MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

Event: Interview ot1L. --tI.(FBI Miami JTTF)

Type of Event:· Interview

Date: October 1, 2003

Special Access Issues: None

Prepared by: Caroline Bames

Team number: 6

Location: FBI, Miami Field Office

Participants Non-Commission: FBI As\sistant General Counsel Randy Boyle

Participants ~ Commission: Caroline Barnes and Peter Rundlet

Background. I Icareer in law enforcement began when he

joined the NY Police Force in 1968. In \1 970, he transferred to the Pompano Beach
Police Department in Broward County, Florida. During his time with the Police Force he
developed his computer skills and had a )jand in building some computer network
systems. He retired as a Police Captain i~\1998. In 1998, he joined the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)\ Due to his expertise and interest in computer
networking, he began working as an Information Manager within the FDLE. He worked
:e:~ interface between the Florida Cri11nal Justice Network (CJNET - see below) and

After 9/11, the Governor pulled together all of the first responders, facilitated by
the FDLE and the Department of Emergency Management (each county has its own
emergency response). FDLE representatives from each of its seven regions formed the
Domestic Security Task Force (DSTF). 1\$
part of this eff01 Iwas reassigned
to cover state and local emig:~prarepness. When the "DLE representative on the
JTTF retired in June 2003, . pplied for the position because he felt that the
FDLE needed a better relations p Wltp th~ FBI and thatinformation sharing between the
two agencies could improve. ':! ....
/

I ~p~nds the fi~st two hd~~:

Of. each.day at the ~DLE office and then the
rest of the aay
at the J11'!'. HIS predecessor didn't spend any tIme at FD.~E .. I I
was assigned to Squad T~4'·b~ause his predecessor wa~,,·1 tva1ue to FDLE is to
be the interface, to facilitate the-information flow bothways ..-He' s had seven minor leads
assigned to him since joining the JIT'Fjn j.*~e,)n·:part·because he's been away for two
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months (working the Matrix investigation ahd\ctn vacationj.iHe has no leads assigned to
him currently. On a daily basis.] :~,::/ rgo~s through his emails and finds a partner on
the squad to go with him-to coverany leads. Personnel come to him.with all FDLE-
related questions.anddatabase check requests.' :, '~ometimes asks FDLE analysts
to conduct the checks for him because his dial-up, system is so slow. """"
',: . ,

The FBi-FDLE Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) states that th~re,~e

supposedtobe two FDL~:f~resentatives on the JTTF. The second representativeJr------.
I [serves a liaison ~,¢tion primarilyj f!s
trained in immigration matters and
as a result may end u~/S~,yi1ding rnore time at the ) ITF.

-4.'
T .../' ~~not sure what T -4 does write large because he's only been there
full-time for a c01~ple of months. He believes that T -4 is the official complaint center and
intelligence hu~/responsible for deconflicting assignments.

The ~LE. The FDLE consists of approximately 2000 personnel. Of those, 500
are sworn officers and the rest work in automation services, training and certification.
I· ~xplained that Florida has an elected Cabinet that serves the Governor, and
each Cabinet Department has its own Commissioner and law enforcement component.
This structure was initiated after the Civil War to guard against one appointed official '; ",,(

having too much control over state resources. FDLE Headquarters is in Tallahassee, FL,
and there are seven regional operating centers with Miami being the largest.

The FDLE is the lead agency during a statewide emergency or other conflict, but .
it is not a first responder agency. It was created in the mid-1960s and is the only state-
wide investigative agency. The FDLE investigates narcotics, violent crime, terrorism and
white collar crime. The FDLE recognizes that the FBI has the lead role in the
counterterrorism area, so any information the FDLE develops in this area it shares with
the FBI. The FDLE views local law enforcement organizations as its customers, and
makes decisions with regard to the shifting of resources between FL law enforcement
entities. The FDLE coordinates and facilitates, but does not direct. It coordinates
statewide events so will run the command post for the upcoming FT A (????).

CJNET. The FDLE is responsible and leases the lines for the Florida Criminal
Justice Network (CINET), a statewide frame relay network (a WAN - wide area
network) started around 1997-8. CJNET started as the Florida Criminal Information
Center (FerC), part of the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC). CJNET
provides additional functionalities using the same technology as the Internet. There is a
Department of Corrections section, and Highway Safety Section (DAVID), license
photographs, etc. Checks have to be run through each section separately, but doing so is
faster than calling or faxing each organization. Only law enforcement organizations can
access CJNET and all partnering entities can link their own databases to it. FDLE
provides a single connection to CJNET and the law enforcement entity must pay for any
additional connections. The FBI Miami Office has an FDLE line on a standalone system
and has access to NCIC and FCIe.

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The Domestic Security Task Force. The DSTF was staffed in large part by
personnel who had been working on the River Walk Drug Program. The FDLE provides
the core staff and the organization is chaired by the Broward County Sheriff. The Co-
chairs, responsible for providing policy direction, are ;the FBI SAC, US Attorney, and the
FDLE Regional Director. The DSTF Advisory Board consists of representatives of law
enforcement, fire department, emergency management, military, coast guard, etc. These
groups meet quarterly and the 10 working groups (the law enforcement
investigation/intelligence group of'whicli ~s a member is the only standing
. group) meet monthly.

The DSTF created "Threatnet," a threat communications system that runs on

CJNET. The FBI has access to the system but it does not contain FBI information.
Access at the FBI field office is cumbersome.

In February 2002, the DSTF created a statewide anti-terrorism intelligence

tip/case management system containing only antiterrorism cases. All of the
investigations documented in this system are ongoing, because once a case is closed in
the state of Florida the public can access it.

Matrix. The FDLE Office of Statewide Intelligence was the driving force behind
the development of this system. This Office is responsible for all criminal intelligence
matters in the state of Florida. The Office is staffed by agents who act as desk officers
(coordinatorslknowledge experts in their fields, no caseload) and many analysts.

Matrix came out oftheFDLE's relationship with Database Technologies, a

an founded b Henry Asher. escribed Asher as a "genius" who was

Asher was named an unm icte co- :/

conspirator in one related case. Asher developed Autotrack, a computer application, .in
the early 1990s. Asher bought and re-packaged' the data in the system, including phone
numbers, addresses, social security numbers, etc. Knowing Asher's history, the F.BI
refused to use Autotraek, Choicepoint bought PBT and Autotrack and forced Asher out
in 1998/9. After 9/~·t, Asher offered his services to the FDLE to help them fi~~tpeople
(the "Hank Factor~'). He founded SEISINT (Ed~ta and Indar were precursorsj and the
FDLE sent agents and analysts to work there. ASher's company created the.Accurent
application, fC1C+ and Matrix. \. .

Matrix is now called FACTS and is a multi-state database. Ma~x is just now
"gett~,g·offthe ground." FACTS will be an application on CJNET and elsewhere
(RISSNET,· a nationwide network), and will produce comprehensive reports based on
multiple sources (i.e., US Government and private data). Floridahas now signed a
:contract with SEISINT, but Asher hadn't been paid a penny for his services prior to that.
.::::1 Istated that the 2003 Matrix "investigation" inwhichhe was involved was
:.....
/ focused on Asher and his background, and was politically motivated. The interim
',' Commissioner of the FDLE asked for a complete r¢view orAsher. They located one
individual who stated Ito
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Asher. Asher stated that he wished he could "take back" those 6-7 days of his life; that
he was "stupid."