From Illegally Rounding up Wild Horses in Wyoming to obvious corruption within their ranks the BLM just can’t shake the image being a “Criminal Agency”
“I LOVE Horses and Burros, and I am here to help!!!”
as published in the Billings Gazette
Two former high-level federal Bureau of Land Management officials who worked in Virginia, including a deputy state director from Montana, have denied criminal charges accusing them of defrauding the government in an employment scheme.
A federal indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Great Falls accuses Larry Ray Denny, 66, of Box Elder, and John Grimson Lyon, 60, of Clifton, Va., of devising a scheme in which Denny continued to receive his $112,224 annual salary and benefits as a BLM deputy state director even though he left and never returned to his job.
Rather, Denny relocated to Montana where he contracted with the Chippewa Cree Tribe for drilling and consulting work.
Prosecutors also allege Denny claimed sick leave and regular pay while gone from his BLM job but that bank records showed he visited various golf courses and traveled to Las Vegas, Arizona and around Montana.
Denny, who was deputy state director for natural resources for the BLM’s Eastern States Office in Springfield, Va., pleaded not guilty to four counts during a Sept. 4 arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong in Great Falls.
Denny’s attorney, Penny Strong of Billings, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Lyon, who was the BLM state director for the Eastern States in Springfield, Va., pleaded not guilty to three counts during an Aug. 19 arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Holter. The indictment was filed in July and unsealed with Lyon’s appearance.
Lyon is represented by Evangelo Arvanetes, an assistant federal defender in Great Falls. Arvanetes could not be reached for comment. Holter ordered Lyon to pay $300 a month for attorney fees.
Laura Weiss, a spokeswoman and prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, could not be reached for comment.
The BLM fraud case is the latest in a series of indictments that have come from investigations by the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Inspector General into fraud and corruption on Rocky Boy’s Reservation.
The investigations already have led to convictions of former state Rep. Tony Belcourt and several contractors who provided kickbacks on federal contracts.
The indictment charges Denny and Lyon with wire fraud, false claims and theft of government property. Denny also faces a count of federal false statements regarding outside income.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Weldon said in the indictment that under the scheme, Denny left his BLM post “with the knowledge and approval” of Lyon, his supervisor, to relocate to Montana to pursue other business interests as a consultant with the Chippewa Cree Tribe and “for all intents and purposes” abandoned his federal job “without relinquishing payment” as an employee.
Lyon is accused of perpetuating Denny’s fraudulent wage claims by approving and submitting false information to the BLM.
The scheme began in about June or July 2012, the indictment said, when Denny told Lyon he needed to return to Montana to “overcome health-related issues.” Denny left BLM’s Springfield office in July 2012 and never returned.
But from July 2012 until March 23, 2013, Denny was paid for 550 hours of regular work, 461 hours of sick leave, 389 hours of annual leave and 72 hours for federal holidays, the indictment said. During that time, bank account activity showed Denny went to golf courses and traveled to Las Vegas, Arizona and in and around Montana.
In a 2012 job appraisal, Lyon rated Denny’s performance as “exceptional,” which led to Denny getting a $3,262 cash award in November 2012, the indictment said.
When BLM employees asked about Denny’s status for business reasons, Lyon refused to provide any information, claiming federal laws about releasing health information prohibited him from disclosing such information, the indictment said.
Meanwhile, in January 2012, the Chippewa Cree Tribe, located on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation in north central Montana, contracted with Denny Technical Services for drilling-related services, including exploration, energy use projects, research on mineral lease agreements, development of drilling programs and communication with relevant agencies.
Denny negotiated the contract with the tribe, while his daughter, Misty Ann Denny, also known as Misty Brooks, executed the agreement, the indictment said.
For a year beginning in March 2012, Denny received about $67,243 from the tribe in addition to his BLM salary and benefits, the indictment said. Of the amount from the tribe, Denny received about $49,000 during 2012 and did not report it on a federal confidential financial disclosure report, the indictment said.
The indictment also includes forfeiture allegations seeking a money judgment of $112,302 and other property that may be traced to the alleged crimes.
If convicted, Denny and Lyon face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the wire fraud charge.
Both men were released pending trial. The case will be heard by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris of Great Falls.
Click (HERE) to comment directly at the Billings Gazette
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Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
UWell … Words … Fail … Me.
It is a failed agency. We are going into debt for generations to fund this crap. He has forfeited his day in court, there is no guilty to prove. He has stolen the trust from the people he swore to represent. His family has been taught the same ways.
This man, every person – including the attorneys seeking reimbursement to fill in their fees for the month (I mean 300 for a month’s is subsidized legal fees). Civil servants are provided a benefit for legal services but it is restricted to basic needs like divorce or property issues. Subsidies for criminal fraud charges is UNAMERICAN!
Can we please wake up now? Reporter must have been on a steady diet of Pepto to get through the info on this story.
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Your post is Spot on janwindsong !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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The BLM corruption unlimited. Our American wild horses just keep on getting rounded up and placed in pens. No matter what the wishes of American people our to protect and let the wild horses be wild. What are we suppose to do? All of us protest on the White House’s lawn. This is just never ending and it isn’t getting better for the wild horses. We can sign petitions, call our representatives in Washington and nothing gets done. The dirt and corruption that goes around these innocent horses is really out of control.
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Patty, you gave me an idea. What if we take the 800 about to be rounded up in Wyoming and pen them all on the White House lawn?
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Are Davis and Salazar next? The “ongoing” investigation surely has gone on long enough… and the 1700 or so wild horses are long gone.
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From you lips….
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More BLM fraud that has been posted: http://m.ksl.com/index/story/sid/19475048?mobile_direct=y
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http://m.elkodaily.com/news/opinion/commentary-media-needs-to-tell-unbiased-story-about-cattle-seizures/article_34b703e6-d1a0-11e3-b2d4-0019bb2963f4.html?mobile_touch=true
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http://www.independentsentinel.com/armed-blm-gestapo-threatening-rural-citizens
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These and many other corrupt DOI/BLM employees need to be on their way to the Hoosegow … forever.
More information:
https://rtfitchauthor.com/2013/07/03/department-of-interiors-where-are-they-now/
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Just the Tip of the Iceberg
BLM Conspiracy, Contradictions, Collusion — 29 Wild Horses Dead — Who Killed the Wild Horses
http://prophoto7journal.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/blm-conspiracy-contradictions-collusion-29-wild-horses-dead-who-killed-the-wild-horses/
There simply comes a time when questions need to be answered (REVIEW: 29 Dead Wild Horses in Murderer’s Creek Capture Report, BLM Cover Up, Again – review at: http://www.veteran-journalist.com) by the Bureau of Land Management and their incompetent management of America’s Heritage, the Wild Horse Herds on Our Public Lands.
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I hope this is the beginning of the chain and doesn’t stop until they ALL are put out of there. We all know that the corruption doesn’t stop there. So I guess one of the job requirements is dishonesty….that explains why no advocates are on the board huh? This is the BLM hard at work…right.. Again, I hope this is only the beginning but note that the westerners aren’t being targeted…..I wonder why..
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So this is going to be in court, great lets get them , put them away and try and get some people who will tell the truth and do the work and help the horses, hpe to fd out about the wild horses being dead too.
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Reblogged this on "OUR WORLD".
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Tip of the iceberg.
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Agree completely, James.
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Let the Domino effect begin !!!!!!!
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POGO (Project on Government Oversight) Uncovers Ethic Concerns at BLM
http://www.pogo.org/our-work/letters/2011/nr-doi-20110302.html
BLM Casper Field Office Employees,”
Click to access murkin-report-ocr-20101006.pdf
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Government contracts (more taxpayer $)
How much is it going to cost taxpayers for the roundup in Wyoming this time….the one due to take place within the next couple of days BEFORE the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals even makes a decision.
https://rtfitchauthor.com/2013/12/01/a-personal-thanksgiving-greetingthreat-from-a-blm-wild-horse-helicopter-stampede-contractor/
A Personal Thanksgiving Greeting/Threat from a BLM Wild Horse Helicopter Stampede Contractor
“RIGHT NOW, TODAY the Cattoors are having THEIR way with YOUR wild horses at the Adobe Town helicopter stampede with NO PUBLIC OBSERVATION…”
http://usaspending.gov/search?form_fields=%7B%22search_term%22%3A%22cattoor%22%7D&sort_by=dollars&per_page=25&page=2
Transaction # 41 (Delivery Order)
IDVPIID/PIID/MOD: INL10PC00593 / INL14PD00019 / 0
Recipient: CATTOOR LIVESTOCK ROUNDUP INC
475 S 200 W, NEPHI, Utah
Program Source: 14-1109
Department/Agency: Department of Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Product/Service: F019: NATURAL RESOURCES/CONSERVATION- OTHER WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
Description: ADOBE TOWN/ SALT WELLS HORSE GATHER FY14 IGF::OT:: … (More)
Signed Date:
11-20-2013
Obligation Amount:
$256,280
Transaction # 42 (Delivery Order)
IDVPIID/PIID/MOD: INL10PC00593 / INL10PD04052 / 0
Recipient: CATTOOR LIVESTOCK ROUNDUP INC
475 S 200 W, NEPHI, Utah
Program Source: 14-1109
Department/Agency: Department of Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Product/Service: F016: WILDHORSE/BURRO CONTROL SERVICES
Description: ADOBE TOWN/SALT WELLS WILD HORSE GATHER
Signed Date:
08-30-2010
Obligation Amount:
$250,000
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Reblogged this on cindymendoza47 and commented:
all this time and finally start to look at these people because what they are doing is criminal . the b.l.m. needs get an acurate numbers of horses cause we’re not going to lose our wild horses!!!
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Enough is enough. I think it is time for all advocates to contact the Department of Justice, and RESPECTFULLY request help based on all the the corruption and fraud going on with them here, and in so many other cases. Be specific in your request. Begin your note with: I need your agency to (investigate) (stop) (help) (prevent) etc. Cutting and pasting this entire blog would be a good way to start, and copy any comments and paste that are relevant. …. I would probably just go with the AskDOJ@usdoj.gov email address, and Title it to Eric Holder, Attorney General of the United States.
I would also let them know about the Wyoming atrocity that is going to start soon. Carol Walker: ‘BLM is being “very vague even about when they will allow public observation, saying it depends upon weather, if it is on private land or not, and told us they will inform us the night before public observation is available – basically making it as hard to get there and be there as possible.”
Louie…you’re an encyclopedia of information to get to them……. 🙂
This is the contact information page. http://www.justice.gov/contact-us.html
Here is a clean copy to paste into your contact email with a link to the Gazette article.
“Ex-BLM Officials Indicted in Elaborate Fraud Scheme
By Clair Johnson as published in the Billings Gazette
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/ex-blm-officials-indicted-in-elaborate-fraud-scheme/article_d7c75cd2-9070-5ee5-be61-cb1a45747628.html
Two former high-level federal Bureau of Land Management officials who worked in Virginia, including a deputy state director from Montana, have denied criminal charges accusing them of defrauding the government in an employment scheme.
A federal indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Great Falls accuses Larry Ray Denny, 66, of Box Elder, and John Grimson Lyon, 60, of Clifton, Va., of devising a scheme in which Denny continued to receive his $112,224 annual salary and benefits as a BLM deputy state director even though he left and never returned to his job.
Rather, Denny relocated to Montana where he contracted with the Chippewa Cree Tribe for drilling and consulting work.
Prosecutors also allege Denny claimed sick leave and regular pay while gone from his BLM job but that bank records showed he visited various golf courses and traveled to Las Vegas, Arizona and around Montana.
Denny, who was deputy state director for natural resources for the BLM’s Eastern States Office in Springfield, Va., pleaded not guilty to four counts during a Sept. 4 arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong in Great Falls.
Denny’s attorney, Penny Strong of Billings, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Lyon, who was the BLM state director for the Eastern States in Springfield, Va., pleaded not guilty to three counts during an Aug. 19 arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Holter. The indictment was filed in July and unsealed with Lyon’s appearance.
Lyon is represented by Evangelo Arvanetes, an assistant federal defender in Great Falls. Arvanetes could not be reached for comment. Holter ordered Lyon to pay $300 a month for attorney fees.
Laura Weiss, a spokeswoman and prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, could not be reached for comment.
The BLM fraud case is the latest in a series of indictments that have come from investigations by the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Inspector General into fraud and corruption on Rocky Boy’s Reservation.
The investigations already have led to convictions of former state Rep. Tony Belcourt and several contractors who provided kickbacks on federal contracts.
The indictment charges Denny and Lyon with wire fraud, false claims and theft of government property. Denny also faces a count of federal false statements regarding outside income.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Weldon said in the indictment that under the scheme, Denny left his BLM post “with the knowledge and approval” of Lyon, his supervisor, to relocate to Montana to pursue other business interests as a consultant with the Chippewa Cree Tribe and “for all intents and purposes” abandoned his federal job “without relinquishing payment” as an employee.
Lyon is accused of perpetuating Denny’s fraudulent wage claims by approving and submitting false information to the BLM.
The scheme began in about June or July 2012, the indictment said, when Denny told Lyon he needed to return to Montana to “overcome health-related issues.” Denny left BLM’s Springfield office in July 2012 and never returned.
But from July 2012 until March 23, 2013, Denny was paid for 550 hours of regular work, 461 hours of sick leave, 389 hours of annual leave and 72 hours for federal holidays, the indictment said. During that time, bank account activity showed Denny went to golf courses and traveled to Las Vegas, Arizona and in and around Montana.
In a 2012 job appraisal, Lyon rated Denny’s performance as “exceptional,” which led to Denny getting a $3,262 cash award in November 2012, the indictment said.
When BLM employees asked about Denny’s status for business reasons, Lyon refused to provide any information, claiming federal laws about releasing health information prohibited him from disclosing such information, the indictment said.
Meanwhile, in January 2012, the Chippewa Cree Tribe, located on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation in north central Montana, contracted with Denny Technical Services for drilling-related services, including exploration, energy use projects, research on mineral lease agreements, development of drilling programs and communication with relevant agencies.
Denny negotiated the contract with the tribe, while his daughter, Misty Ann Denny, also known as Misty Brooks, executed the agreement, the indictment said.
For a year beginning in March 2012, Denny received about $67,243 from the tribe in addition to his BLM salary and benefits, the indictment said. Of the amount from the tribe, Denny received about $49,000 during 2012 and did not report it on a federal confidential financial disclosure report, the indictment said.
The indictment also includes forfeiture allegations seeking a money judgment of $112,302 and other property that may be traced to the alleged crimes.
If convicted, Denny and Lyon face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the wire fraud charge.
Both men were released pending trial. The case will be heard by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris of Great Falls.”
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