Colonel James Sabow USMC
(August 5, 1939 - January 22, 1991)
(August 5, 1939 - January 22, 1991)
Who was Colonel James Sabow?
• Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 5, 1939
• Father, a physician, spent three years as flight surgeon in Army Air Corps - Pacific
• One of three boys - entire family remained very close throughout their lives
• A devout practicing Catholic
• Married for twenty-three years to Sally Townsend of Tucson, AZ.
• Father of David and Deirdre - healthy, bright and successful
• Graduate of Georgetown University, class of '62, with a degree in Economics
• Excellent physical and mental health and known for his positive attitude
• Was financially very solid even without consideration of retirement as colonel with nearly thirty years active duty in Marine Corps
• Found dead in the backyard of his El Toro base house on January 22, 1991
• Within 30 minutes after body was discovered, brother of victim was informed that his brother committed suicide.
Five days prior to his death he was informed that several training flights he took were to be investigated as potentially improper. One day later, the Inspector General of Marine Corps, dropped the investigation.
Colonel James Sabow's Marine Corps Career
• Commissioned in 1963
• After receiving Wings was assigned to A-6 Intruder squadron
• Stationed in Da Nang, Republic of Viet Nam
• Flew 221 Combat missions in one tour of duty
• Recipient of 15 Flight/Strike Air Medals, Bronze Star with Combat "V" (for training ground troops in use of radio air support after traveling deep within enemy territory ) and numerous other decorations
• Official Marine Corps Fitness Reports were outstanding throughout his entire career
• Served as Commander of the Third Marine Air Group, as well as several other major tactical assignments
• At time of death served as G-3(ACS) of Marine Air, Western Area
• Seven days before his death, he was asked to become Chief of Staff but he declined
At 8:30 AM on January 22, 1991 Colonel Sabow's wife, Sally, left the house and returned at 9:20 AM. Entering, she found the house unexpectedly quiet, the TV on mute and Jimmy absent. Then through the kitchen window, she saw his body laying lifeless in the backyard.
Physical Evidence
1. Contusion to Head
2. Skull X-ray
3. Blood Filled Lungs
4. Blood Stain Evidence
5. Injuries to lower lip
6. Fingerprint Results
7. Location of Shotgun Wound
8. Position of Body at Crime Scene
9. Gunshot Residue
Physical Evidence
1. Contusion to Head
2. Skull X-ray
3. Blood Filled Lungs
4. Blood Stain Evidence
5. Injuries to Lower Lip
6. Fingerprint Results
7. Location of Shotgun Wound
8. Position of Body at Crime Scene
FACTS:
•An orange-sized contusion existed behind the right ear and extended downward to the neck.
•At autopsy, a massive blood clot was identified within the swollen area and between the scalp and skull. Skull x-rays were taken and showed a large depressed skull fracture under the blood clot with the fragment pressed inward over 3/4 of an inch deep.
•Battle's sign: ecchymosis restricted to rt. ear-indicates basilar skull fracture
•Since the victim was alleged to have shot himself in the mouth, any displaced fragments should have been blown outward not inward.
•X-rays showed that there were no shotgun pellets nor bone spicules within the blood clot.
CONCLUSION:
The swelling (contusion) of the back of the head and depressed skull fracture are characteristic of an external blunt force applied to the right occipital area of the skull. It is inconsistent with an inta-oral shotgun wound.
Falsification of Autopsy Photo
A. Note normal appearing left side in contrast to distortion of right ear, swelling of right head and neck and Battle’s sign.
B. Depressed skull fracture behind right ear-no pellets outside of skull and especially none in area of swelling.
C. Blood clot over fracture
Left side of head, ear and neck show no signs of swelling, ecchymosis or any other abnormality.
With scalp reflected from posterior to anterior, there is no evidence of hemorrhage or contusion of under-surface of scalp, no sub-dermal blood clot nor contusion of temporalis muscle. Contrast this to the right side.
This is especially poignant because in suicide scenario, the shot supposedly was from right to left.
NIS
CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
"it appeared, at the time of the alleged suicide, victim was seated in the patio chair with the shotgun situated/positioned to the right of victim, adjacent to the lateral surface of his right leg. The butt of the shotgun was placed on the ground and the muzzle pointed upward".
Physical Evidence
1. Contusion to Head
2. Skull X-ray
3. Blood Filled Lungs
4. Blood Stain Evidence
5. Injuries to Lower Lip
6. Fingerprint Results
7. Location of Shotgun Wound
8. Position of Body at Crime Scene
Skull x-rays taken at the Orange County Medical Examiner's facility demonstrated a large depressed occipital skull fracture. These x-rays were reviewed by university medical specialists.
A conference at the University of Minnesota consisting of three Professors of Neuroradiology and three Professors of Neurosurgery evaluated these x-rays and corresponding autopsy photos. Their conclusions were:
•"fracture was from blunt force inflicted to the right posterior skull"Dr. David Rubinstein of the Department of Neuroradiology, University of Colorado Medical School concluded: "the depressed skull fracture is not likely to have resulted from the shotgun blast. The appearance of the soft tissues...should give the best clues as to the cause of the depressed fracture."
•"the fracture could not have occurred as a result of the gunshot"
•"from a review of the photos, it was apparent that the blunt force occurred prior to death"
Dr. Dennis Nesbit, neuro-radiologist Rapid City Regional Hospital and Clinical Professor, University of South Dakota, concludes: "the skull fracture appears to be overwhelmingly atypical for that caused by a shotgun blast, it is very typical of blunt trauma to the skull."
Physical Evidence
1. Contusion to Head
2. Skull X-ray
3. Blood Filled Lungs
4. Blood Stain Evidence
5. Injuries to Lower Lip
6. Fingerprint Results
7. Location of Shotgun Wound
8. Position of Body at Crime Scene
Autopsy Report
• "Shotgun contact wound to soft palate (extreme posterior mouth)"
• "brain tissue massively lacerated"
• "no intact brainstem could be identified"
• "no intact brainstem including midbrain, pons, or cerebral peduncle"
• (autopsy photo) labeled (AA) description: "disintegration of superior end of the spinal cord"
• "Respiratory System: large amount of aspirated blood...hemorrhage more marked on the right side ...lumens of trachea and bronchi have large amount of aspirated blood"
Fact
It is absolutely impossible to breathe without an intact brainstem. Not even a gasp! This victim was not only brain dead but, was actually, "brain absent". Furthermore, there was "disintegration of the superior end of the spinal cord."
The victim could not have aspirated blood after being shot!
NB. The blood was not just in the large breathing tubes, the trachea and bronchi, but most was in the alveoli, the tiny air cells. This requires a significant breathing effort!
Conclusions
The victim had to have been very actively breathing blood while he was still alive and, obviously, before he was shot, for death would have been instantaneous after the shot.
Dr. Jack Feldman, Professor of Neuroscience and Chairman of the Department of Physiologic Science at UCLA is recognized as the world's leading authority on the physiology of respiration. He concludes: "Col. Sabow was rendered unconscious or immobile by a blow to the head that fractured the base of the skull, causing bleeding into the pharynx. Breathing continued after the injury, aspirating blood into the lung. At sometime later, a shotgun was placed in the mouth and triggered (by another party), causing death and obscuring any evidence of prior injury. I conclude that the evidence does not support ...a self- inflicted gunshot wound". N.B. The x-rays were not available when Dr. Feldman gave his expert opinion. One year later, he reviewed the x-rays with specialists at the UCLA MEDICAL CENTER and commented that the x-ray results are exactly what he expected and predicted!
Physical Evidence
1. Contusion to Head
2. Skull X-ray
3. Blood-filled Lungs
4. Blood Stain Evidence
5. Injuries to Lower Lip
6. Fingerprint Results
7. Location of Shotgun Wound
8. Position of Body at Crime Scene
Presumed Position of Victim at Time of alleged suicide according to NIS
CONCLUSION
• Since the blood stains "G" and "H" must be a result of blood from the mouth at the exact time of the shooting, these stains must reflect the position of the body at the time of the shooting.
• The NIS report describes the presumed position of the victim at the instant of the shooting, if the wound was self inflicted
• If self inflicted the blood stains "G" and "H" would have been directed at the patio and could not have been found behind and to the right of the victim
NIS Photo
The two bloodstains labeled "G" and "H" are depicted here.
"Blood is one of the most important types of physical evidence of death and violent crime. The careful study of the patterns of blood, location of blood and the volume of blood at a death scene is of paramount importance in distinguishing whether the manner of death was a homicide or a suicide." "The failure to consider bloodstain evidence when it is present represents a serious omission in an investigation." -Bloodstain Patterns at Crime Scenes by Stuart James.•MCAS EL TORO EMT REPORT: J. E. Sabow, 91/01/22 0955 EBL (estimated blood loss) 50 cc signed: Dr. S. Gibbs, LT MC USNR
FACTS:
• "Contact shotgun wounds of the head are among the most mutilating firearms wounds there are." From GUNSHOT WOUNDS by Vincent DiMaio, MD. and Medical Examiner of San Antonio, Texas
•Autopsy states: "contact wound of soft palate"
•this blast would have caused a crime scene so bloody that not only the victim but also the adjacent area would be drenched in blood. It is much worse when there is no exit wound because the 5gal. of expanding gases must decompress from the entrance wound.
•the crime scene video and photos, as well as the NIS Investigative Report, clearly document the minimal amount of blood at the crime scene
CONCLUSIONS:
• the Estimated Blood Loss at the crime scene of 50cc which is only a bit more than one and 1⁄2 ounce, means that the victim was dead without any circulating blood when he was shot
FACTS
NIS CRIME SCENE REPORT: "pajama bottoms and socks...void of blood"
• extensive photos of the victim at the crime scene and the morgue clearly show that the victim's clothes were almost devoid of blood except the right shoulder of his bathrobe and tee shirt
• no blood was found on the shotgun whose barrel was alleged to have been been jammed against the victim's soft palate and discharged which should have caused an extremely bloody and mutilating wound
• no blood was found on the chair upon which the victim allegedly sat when he shot himself
• no blood was present on the back of the victim's left hand that was alleged to have been used to grasp the shotgun barrel while holding it in his mouth
• blood coated the palm of the victim's left hand and forearm and also a portion of the palm of his right hand, yet there was no blood on the intervening front of the body
• the ground at the crime scene contained only minimal blood stain
View of victim laying in backyard
Close up of left forearm and hand
No blood on back of thumb and finger
Close up of left forearm and hand
No blood on back of forearm
Close up of left forearm and hand
Blood drenched palm
Close up of left forearm and hand
Straight margin with pooling of blood along margin
Close up of left forearm and hand
Straight margin with pooling of blood along margin
Close up of left forearm and hand
Irregular margin on upper border of blood stain
View of Right Hand
• Note the blood on the palm of the right hand
• Whether it was the thumb or forefinger that pushed or pulled the trigger, the blood could not have stained the palm with projected or dropped blood. The back of the hand would have received the blood spatter.
View of Right Hand
• These stains represent blood that was smeared before it dried.
• Blood drops dry completely within 20 minutes.
• Col. Sabow died before 9AM
• His body was discovered at about 9:30AM
Therefore: after he was shot, decedent's hand was moved by someone else before his body was discovered by Sally Sabow at 9:30AM.
CONCLUSIONS OF BLOOD EVIDENCE
• 50 cc EBL means victim was dead when he was shot
• absence of blood on chair means victim was not sitting on chair when he was shot
• absence of blood on shotgun means someone else triggered then wiped the gun and subsequently placed it under the victim
• absence of blood on the back of left hand and forearm means victim could not have been holding the gun in his mouth with his left hand when the gun was fired
• linear lower margin and irregular upper margin indicate that the ulnar (lower) surface of the left forearm was lying on a flat surface and in front of the blood source (his mouth) when he was shot
• absence of blood on front of body means victim could not have shot himself sitting upright in patio chair
• if the palms of both hands were covered with blood, the gun would also be covered with blood if the victim shot himself, as well as the front of his torso and lower extremities
• Right hand blood patterns indicate that the decedent did not pull or push trigger
• Someone repositioned right hand after victim was shot in mouth
After studying the blood evidence, the only possible explanation of the manner of death is shown in the photo of the victim as he was actually found.
• the victim lay dead in this exact position when a shotgun was thrust in his mouth and fired
• a small amount of blood from the pharynx and brain shot out from the entrance wound, spattering the palms and the left forearm which left blood evidence of the actual position of the victim when he was shot
Physical Evidence
1. Contusion to Head
2. Skull X-ray
3. Blood Filled Lungs
4. Blood Stain Evidence
5. Injuries of Mouth & LIPS
6. Fingerprint Evidence
7. Location of Shotgun Wound
8. Position of Body at Crime Scene
INJURIES OF THE MOUTH & LIPS
• Vertical lacerations seen next to both sides of the mouth. The laceration on the left is much smaller but is located and slanted exactly as the laceration on the right side.
• This is evidence that these two lacerations resulted from a common source.
• The intra-cranial and intra-oral explosive gases that resulted from the shotgun blast caused these lacerations.
• Contusions of lower lip secondary to biting. Lateral incisor markings (A & B ) are most prominent.
• Subcutaneous bleeding of lip from left lateral incisor laceration. (C)
• The injuries to the lower lip were the result of biting which caused lacerations and contusions from the upper central and lateral incisors.
• A shotgun barrel in the mouth would prevent the maxillary incisors from contacting the lower lip.
• Furthermore, the shot destroyed the brainstem, the victim was incapable of biting. Furthermore the shotgun in the mouth between the teeth would have prevented any biting of the lips.
Therefore:
The victim forcefully bit his lips before he was shot!
Physical Evidence
1. Contusion to Head
2. Skull X-ray 3. Blood Filled Lungs
4. Blood Stain Evidence
5. Injuries to Lower Lip
6. Fingerprint Results
7. Location of Shotgun Wound
8. Position of Body at Crime Scene
A 12 gauge Ithaca double barreled shotgun was found under the victim. That gun was stored in a scabbard-style gun case on a shelf in a vacant bedroom. If the victim shot himself, he would have had to perform the following tasks:
•remove the gun from the scabbard
•zipper the scabbard and replace the empty case on the shelf and close the closet door
•carry the gun through the house, open and the close the kitchen door, walk across the patio and open a rear passage door of the garage
•place the gun on a counter in the garage
•open a cabinet and remove a heavy box filled with ammunition and place it on the counter
•select two shells from one of many individual boxes •break open the shotgun and load the shells into the chamber
•close the shotgun and again place it on the counter
•replace the box of ammunition in the cabinet and close the cabinet
•call the dogs from the yard and lock them in the garage
•carry the gun across the yard where he was alleged to have removed a chair from the patio and carry it to the grass
•sit in the chair, place the butt of the shotgun on the ground next to his right foot and grasp the barrel with his left hand while reaching down with his right to depress the trigger
And Do All Of This Without Leaving One Fingerprint On The Shotgun!
Physical Evidence
1. Contusion to Head
2. Skull X-ray 3. Blood Filled Lungs
4. Blood Stain Evidence
5. Injuries to Lower Lip
6. Fingerprint Results
7. Location of Shotgun Wound
8. Position of Body at Crime Scene
The autopsy report states that there was a contact wound of the soft palate.
FACTS
•the soft palate is one of the most highly sensitive tissues in the body, and is characterized by the "gag reflex" to help prevent choking
•the width of the end of the muzzle of the shotgun is just under two inches
•the width of an adult soft palate and adjacent oral cavity is just over one inch
CONCLUSION
It would be impossible to self-inflict a contact wound to the soft palate. The gag reflex would prevent this. Therefore, self-inflicted intraoral shot gun wounds are to the hard palate which is the roof of the anterior portion of the oral cavity and can result in "blowing off the top of the head".
The victim had to have been unconscious when the shotgun was forcefully jammed into his mouth and fired!
Physical Evidence
1. Contusion to Head
2. Skull X-ray
3. Blood Filled Lungs
4. Blood Stain Evidence
5. Injuries to Lower Lip
6. Fingerprint Results
7. Location of Shotgun Wound
8. Position of Body at Crime Scene
FACTS:
A standard 12 gauge # 7 1/2 bird load exerts 1771 ft./lb. kinetic energy (force). With no exit wound, the entire energy is expended in tissue destruction and propulsion.
CONCLUSIONS:
The victim, who had no exit wound, and weighed 160 lb. was alleged to have been sitting in a light weight patio chair in the middle of a lawn, would have been blown backward in the direction of the long axis of the shotgun. To have fallen forward and to the right, on top of the gun, is inconsistent with the alleged scenario of the victim sitting in the chair, placing the butt end of the gun on the ground next to his right foot with the barrel in his mouth and discharging the weapon.
Homicide
or
Suicide?
All violent deaths are to be investigated as homicides after accidental causes have been eliminated. ( NIS Manual)
Proof of Suicide: rests primarily on negative evidence: the absence of evidence indicating homicide. (Even a suicide note does not prove that the manner of death was suicide)
Proof of Homicide: rests with the evidence collected at the crime scene, in addition to the evidence collected during a careful evaluation by the Medical Examiner. The cause of death can be determined by the Medical Examiner but the manner of death is to be determined by the Sheriff/Coroner! The manner of death determination requires an evaluation of all the evidence, much of which is not even available to the Medical Examiner.
Totality of Evidence
CIRCUMSTANTIAL
•Talked on phone at 8:20 AM with Capt. McBride
•Watching TV when received anonymous phone call at 8:30 AM
•Death occurred between 8:34 AM and 9 AM
•Placed TV on "mute"
•Took dogs from backyard and put them in garage •FLIGHT RECORDS-no takeoffs from 8:30-9 AM
•Next door neighbor "didn't hear shotgun blast"
•Underwood greets visitor at Sabow front yard at 9:15 AM, states "Sabow not at home" later states “I was going over to see Col. Sabow"
•Between 9:20-9:30 wife discovers body in yard
•Feels large swelling on back of head
•Runs next door, yells "Jimmy is dead".
•Col. Underwood runs to gate between yards and observes body about 40 to 50 feet away
•Calls General Adams, says "Jimmy is dead. He shot himself in the mouth".
•Joan Underwood yells,"Joe, this has gone too far!"
PHYSICAL
•Blood evidence-volume, stain and pattern
•Body and gun position
•Lump on back of head, blood clot between skull and scalp
•Depressed skull fracture
•Total destruction of brainstem
•Lungs filled with aspirated blood
•Fingerprint evidence
OTHER
•No suicide note
•Psychological Profile
•Devout Catholic
•Loved family
•Financially stable
TIMELINE
Monday, Jan. 21, 1991, 6PM - Col. Underwood tells Col. Sabow that C-130 flights are landing at El Toro with massive drug shipments. Underwood threatens Sabow to keep quiet.
Monday, 8 PM to 9 PM- Sabow telephones Ret. Gen. J K Davis. Tells Davis he intends to demand Court Marshal and expose weapon and drug flights. Davis notifies Washington & Gen. Tom Adams, base commander.
Monday, 9 PM - Adams goes to HDQ office. Receives instructions from Marine HDQ, Washington. Coordinates with Underwood and IRT (international response team) in San Diego.
11:30 PM - Drafts communiqué to Commandant of Marine Corps, Gen. Al Grey telling of Sabow suicide. Does not realize that time/date group is ZULU. Then arranges meeting in his office with staff for Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 8 AM to await news of death and for alibi.
Tuesday, Jan. 22, 8 AM – IRT arrives by helicopter, lands in remote area of airstrip that is isolated and only 450 yds. behind Underwood and Sabow homes and cross vacant field. Gate in Underwood backyard adjacent to field is left open. Rendezvous with Underwood in his house. Underwood checks status of Col. Sabow's and wife's autos to affirm their presence in house.
Tues. 6AM – Sabow awakens, showers, makes coffee, lets dogs out of garage into fenced backyard and feeds them. Goes to front of house to retrieve newspaper. Throws football for a few minutes with neighbor children. 7:20 AM, Deirdre, daughter, leaves for school.
8:30 AM - Sabow watching Desert Storm on TV. Sally ready to leave house to attend Mass. Telephone rings. Caller hesitates causing Sabow to repeat three times, " Hello, Col. Sabow here". Sally leaves and drives away. Sabow goes into backyard and places German Shepard in garage.
Underwood waits until German Shepherd is locked in garage, then enters into Sabow backyard. They walk together towards living-room door. Underwood grabs Sabow while two IRT men bludgeon him causing a massive right temporal-parietal skull fracture as well as complex basilar skull fractures. Sabow falls on right side. Agonal hyperventilation fills his right lung with blood and brainstem seizures cause lacerated lips and tongue. Unaware that Sally had left at the exact moment of the 8:30 call, they run from victim into house to meet other two IRT men who were stationed in the front to prevent Sally from getting help.
On the walk from the gate towards the door, Sabow informed Underwood that Sally was not at home but left for Mass and would be home shortly. With this knowledge, one IRT man ran out, through the Underwood back gate, across the field to the waiting helicopter and left the airstrip, leaving Underwood and three IRT men to await Sally. A murder-suicide was the plan to ensure that Sally could not reveal what she may have known and to explain the lack of a suicide note.
9AM - Lt. Col. Gary Albin arrives on Sabow front porch to return airline manual. No response causes Albin to linger for over ten minutes because Col. Sabow's car is parked at the curb. Underwood and IRT panic. Sally is due to return at any minute. Underwood runs out the back, across the backyards and through his house and out his front door where he summons Albin from the Sabow's porch and informs him that the colonel is not home. Albin leaves.
While Underwood is getting rid of Albin, the IRT runs to the body of Col. Sabow who has already been dead for more than twenty minutes. They observe massive swelling on back of head. Having already procured the shotgun from Col. Sabow's house with Underwood's help and knowledge, they jam the barrel into the Colonel's mouth and discharge the weapon. Then they disperse; Underwood to his house and the IRT out Underwood's backyard gate to the vacant lot.
The victim lay dead on his right side with the shooter above and in front which resulted in the gun entering the oral cavity either horizontally or even slightly downward. This caused the muzzle to contact the soft palate that is directly anterior to the upper two bodies of the cervical vertebrae rather than the more typical position in a suicide with the muzzle pointed upward in touch with hard palate that results in a massive exit wound on the top of the head.
The epicenter of the blast was absorbed by these stout bones resulting in disintegration of the upper spinal cord before being reflected into the skull cavity where it destroyed the entire brainstem and reeking havoc to the entire contents of the skull. This is why there was no exit wound and why the blast did not destroy depressed skull fracture that was overwhelming evidence of external blunt force trauma.
Because Col. Sabow had been dead for a period exceeding ten to fifteen minutes, there was virtually no blood on the front of the victim. The only appreciable blood volume was on his dependent right shoulder that exited his right ear as a result of the basilar skull fractures. This time sequence, in itself, proves that Col. Sabow lived long enough after he was bludgeoned to bleed from his right ear but was dead when he was shot resulting in almost no blowback from the entry wound. After death blood clots in ten to fifteen minutes within the body before it reliquifies in about 24 hrs.
MOTIVE: Col. Sabow warned senior officers that he would expose drug smuggling onto military bases, especially El Toro
OPPORTUNITY: Col. Underwood frequented Col. Sabow's home by back gate only after having Col. Sabow secure his German Shepherd. Call to Col. Sabow at 8:30 AM prompt TV on mute and sequester dog. This led Sabow without suspicion into backyard where attack occurred.
Means: Underwood knew location of Col. Sabows hunting guns. Five foot high privacy fence between their backyards provided cover for IRT until Sabow was grasped by Underwood.
A follow-up Power Pt. will highlight the extensive cover-up that involves all three branches of our federal government
* * *
Death of Marine Colonel Jim Sabow
________
Related reading:
'Historic' Audit of marines Was Faked, Pentagon Still Can't Audit Itself
DEA Can't concentrate on the "war on drugs" because they are running sleazy sex clubs where illegal immigrants get paid to give h... .:
New DEA Scandal: Agents ran sleazy sex club staffed with illegal workers
________
Related reading:
'Historic' Audit of marines Was Faked, Pentagon Still Can't Audit Itself
DEA Can't concentrate on the "war on drugs" because they are running sleazy sex clubs where illegal immigrants get paid to give h... .:
New DEA Scandal: Agents ran sleazy sex club staffed with illegal workers
________
This article appeared
at militarycorruption.com
NEW REVELATIONS IN DEATH OF COL SABOW HIGHLY-DECORATED MARINE AT EL TORO WAS "MURDERED" SAYS EX-CIA CONTRACT PILOT WHO FLEW GUNS AND DRUGS INTO CALIFORNIA MCAS "SOMEONE KILLED SABOW AND STAGED CRIME TO LOOK LIKE A SUICIDE," MIKE JACOBS, FORMER CHIEF OF ORANGE COUNTY DA'S HOMICIDE SQUAD
DISCLOSES - BREAKS 15-YEAR SILENCE TO COME FORWARD WITH FACTS ON WHAT HAPPENED TO MARINE OFFICER - SAYS SOMEONE COVERING UP HOW AND WHY COLONEL WAS "SUICIDED"
It's been 15 long years since Col. James Sabow was shotgunned to death in the backyard of his quarters at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in California, but at last, the remaining pieces of the puzzle are finally falling into place.
MilitaryCorruption.com has learned two men have come forward to say they believe the highly-decorated USMC pilot was killed. One, a former CIA contract pilot, who admits he once ran guns and drugs into the now shutdown installation; the other, a former chief of the Orange County District Attorney's Homicide Squad.
The pilot, William "Tosh" Plumlee, says "Sabow was murdered," while top cop Mike Jacobs calls the military investigation a "whitewash" and flat-out declared "someone killed Sabow and staged the crime to look like a suicide."
MAINTAINING THE LIE - WHY WON'T THE MARINE CORPS COME CLEAN?
The latest revelations in the bizarre death of one of the Marine Corps best pilots of the Vietnam War, puts the top brass in an untenable position. To admit that justice was not served in 1991 and the official story that Sabow committed "suicide," (see our "related stories box" below for full details on the case), would greatly hurt the Corps' public image. However, to continue to "deny and lie" in the face of overwhelming circumstantial and forensic evidence the death had to be a homicide, could damage the Marines even more in the long run.
There's a famous saying in the Corps that "no wounded is ever left behind." What then, shall we do about an outstanding senior officer like Col. Sabow, who flew over 200 missions over North Vietnam in an A-6 Intruder? Isn't it about time the Marines admit a terrible crime was covered up and Sabow lost his life because he was about to "blow the whistle" on drug-running activities at the once-bustling military air station? We think so.
The Marines certainly owe that much to Sally, Col. Sabow's widow, as well as his family, including the dead officer's loyal brother, Dr. David Sabow, who has waged a long and courageous battle to find out the truth of what really took place.
WEEKLY NEWSPAPER REPORTER DIGS OUT THE DETAILS
Most of the media have forgotten the Sabow case by now, but one enterprising reporter has been instrumental in digging out the facts in this matter and locating both Plumlee and Jacobs. That man is Nick Schou. In a series of hard-hitting articles in the Orange County Weekly (www.ocweekly.com) he has expertly laid out the details of how the colonel was "suicided." When the truth is finally known, and the USMC apologizes to the Sabow family for putting them through an unspeakable hell, Schou is a sure bet for a top journalism award.
We too, at MilitaryCorruption.com, have been absolutely determined, over the past six years, in exposing how the military covers up murders and calls them "suicides" when a real investigation might prove embarrassing and inconvenient. Whether it's the strange death of USAF Col. Philip Shue in Texas, or the obvious slaying of Navy Chief Petty Officer Tom Traylor in California, and we have investigated both cases at length, our findings to date can be found using the "search" button under the masthead of MilitaryCorruption.com on the web site's "jump page."
It is unconscionable that the Pentagon would allow these abuses to continue. Not only is the reputation of fine men and women besmirched by labeling their suspicious deaths "suicide" when the evidence points elsewhere, but the families of the deceased are also victimized - sentenced to a lifetime of pain and humiliation, as well. This must stop. An honest accounting of what's happened so far is remote, however, as long as a slimy megalomaniac and political neo-CON like Donald Rumsfeld continues to disgrace the office of secretary of defense.
COMING FORWARD TO SPEAK OUT AT LAST
Plumlee was too scared to talk to investigative reporter Schou when the California newsman first contacted him in 1996.
The fear in the pilot's voice was noticeable as he stammered into the telephone, "I can't talk to you, this is all classified."
The veteran CIA contract pilot from Panama City, Fla.said he might go straight to federal prison if he talked. But that was then, and this is now. His children are through college and the nearly 70 year-old expert at jockeying a loaded aircraft in and out of tight spots around the globe was at last ready to give his views on how Col. Sabow died.
"There was talk about drugs going into El Toro," Plumlee said. "A lot of pilots talked about it." He told Schou crates of weapons were unloaded off his unmarked plane at El Toro and the cases could have easily contained drugs.
As to Sabow, known as a straight arrow who would tolerate no misconduct of any type on his watch and would certainly turn in fellow Marines if he suspected they were involved in drug smuggling, Plumlee confirmed the colonel was high in the chain-of-command at El Toro when the special flights took place.
"There's no way he couldn't have known about it, he would have had to have been briefed. I think he was murdered."
A TOP HOMICIDE INVESTIGATOR BREAKS HIS 15-YEAR SILENCE
Jacobs suspects foul play as well, and he was in a key position to know.
"I've always believed that someone killed Sabow in broad daylight and staged the crime to look like a suicide," he told the Orange County Weekly. While the veteran cop won't guess as to why Sabow was murdered - he says his investigation "never went that far" - he says "somebody is covering up a cold-blooded murder." "After you look at the evidence, it's quite compelling that it wasn't a suicide," Jacobs said. "It looked to me . . . like a whitewash and possible cover-up. Why won't the government do something? This guy (Col. Sabow) was an honorable man with a good military record, and to sweep what happened to him under the carpet really says something about our government." Jacobs is highly-skilled at working homicide cases. He's conducted more than 250 of them in his long career and contends the crime scene photos (which MilitaryCorruption.com has seen) "suggest foul play."
A "STAGED" CRIME SCENE AND A COVER-UP OF MURDER
"Even an amateur would view the scene as staged. A person who shoots himself with a shotgun does not fall forward," Jacobs said. "The manner in which the weapon was found underneath him and the positioning of the hands and the chair - the whole thing looked staged."
[In our earlier stories, MCC pointed out the colonel's fingerprints were nowhere on the weapon he supposedly used to fire the fatal round into his mouth. There was a large amount of aspirated blood found in the colonel's lungs - meaning Sabow had to have taken a few deep breaths after shooting himself in the head. Dr. David Sabow and other neurological experts who reviewed the evidence said those breaths would be impossible for a man like the colonel, whose brain stem - including the medulla - had been destroyed in the shotgun blast. The shocking lack of blood at the scene suggest the officer had been knocked out and was lying on the ground when the shotgun was fired. X-ray photographs showed a depressed skull fracture, suggesting the colonel had been struck from behind.]
Jacobs told Schou one of his former detectives, a Marine Corps veteran with decades of experience investigating homicides, agrees Sabow was murdered. But the detective has asked to remain anonymous. What he told Jacobs was revealing: "There's no evidence Sabow was suicidal," he said. "There's no suicide note . . . nobody at Naval Investigative Service conducted the investigation as a homicide. They immediately treated it as a suicide."
Why? To conceal the fact that a USMC colonel had been murdered in the backyard of his own living quarters at El Toro MCAS? Perhaps it was to cover-up drug-trafficking that was going on and believed to be known about at the highest levels of the Marine Corps.
"AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER?" A SALUTE TO DR. DAVID SABOW
In the Book of Genesis, the Old Testament, in the Holy Bible, the story is told of Cain and Able. The first-born of Adam and Eve, the brothers quarreled when Cain grew jealous of Able's favor in the eyes of God.
The evil Cain slew his sibling with a rock and hid the body. It was the first murder in recorded history. When God asked Cain where Able was, Cain replied: "Am I my brother's keeper?"
We honor Dr. David Sabow here, a man who never lost his love for his slain brother, Col. James Sabow, and who, someday, will be blessed with solving this case and bringing those responsible to justice.
Confined to a wheelchair and in poor health, the South Dakota-based physician never loses sight of his ultimate goal. Even faced with threats to his life, the determined and dedicated Midwesterner refuses to back off.
He has spent many thousands of dollars out of his own pocket trying to get to the bottom of the case. Dr. Sabow has had to endure indignities unspeakable from politicians, phony "investigators," opportunists, and out-and-out liars who have tried to block his path every step of the way.
We are inspired and awed by this man's courage and high degree of character. If you, dear reader, had a brother with even a part of the loyalty and devotion this man has shown, you can call yourself blessed indeed.
MilitaryCorruption.com "salutes" Dr. David Sabow as a unique American who gives us all hope in knowing there are still people of his caliber that exist. May God bless him and lead him to ultimate victory.
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This article appeared
at Global Research
Jeb Bush, the Mexican Drug Cartel and "Free Trade". The Bush Family and Organized Crime
But Jeb is not only the brother of George W. and the son of George H. W. Bush.
Jeb Bush also had close personal ties to Raul Salinas de Gortari, brother of Mexico's former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari. In the 1990s, Raul the "drug kingpin", according to Switzerland's federal prosecutor Carla del Ponte, was one of the main figures of the Mexican Drug Cartel.
"There has also been a great deal of speculation in Mexico about the exact nature of Raul Salinas' close friendship with former President George Bush's son, Jeb. It is well known here that for many years the two families spent vacations together — the Salinases at Jeb Bush’s home in Miami, the Bushes at Raul's ranch, Las Mendocinas, under the volcano in Puebla.
There are many in Mexico who believe that the relationship became a back channel for delicate and crucial negotiations between the two governments, leading up to President Bush's sponsorship of NAFTA." (Prominent intellectual and former foreign Minister of Mexico Jorge G. Castañeda, The Los Angeles Times. and Houston Chronicle, 9 March 1995, emphasis added)
Raul Salinas Lozano was the family patriarch, father of Carlos and Raul Junior. According to the former private secretary to Raul Salinas Lozano (in as statement to US authorities):
"… Mr. Salinas Lozano was a leading figure in narcotics dealings that also involved his son, Raul Salinas de Gortari, his son-in-law, Jose Francisco Ruiz Massieu, the No. 2 official in the governing Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and other leading politicians, according to the documents. Mr. Ruiz Massieu was assassinated in 1994." (Dallas Morning News, 26 February 1997, emphasis added).Former president George H. W. Bush and Raul Salinas Lozano were "intimo amigos". According to former DEA official Michael Levine, the Mexican drug Cartel was a "family affair". Both Carlos and Raul were prominent members of the Cartel. And this was known to then US Attorney General Edward Meese in 1987 one year prior to Carlos Salinas’ inauguration as the country's president.
When Carlos Salinas was inaugurated as President, the entire Mexican State apparatus became criminalised with key government positions occupied by members of the Cartel. The Minister of Commerce in charge of trade negotiations leading up to the signing of NAFTA was Raul Salinas Lozano, father of Raul Junior the Drug kingpin and of Carlos the president.
And it is precisely during this period that the Salinas government launched a sweeping privatisation program under advice from the IMF.
The privatisation program subsequently evolved into a multibillion dollar money laundering operation. Narco-dollars were channelled towards the acquisition of State property and public utilities.
Richard Barnet of the Institute for Policy Studies, testified to the US Congress (April 14, 1994) that
"billions of dollars in state assets have gone to supporters and cronies” (Dallas Morning News, 11 August 1994).These included the sale of Telefonos de Mexico, valued at $ 3.9 billion and purchased by a Salinas crony for $ 400 million.(Ibid).
Raul Salinas was behind the privatisation programme. He was known as "El Señor 10 por Ciento" [Mr. 10 Percent] "for the slice of bid money he allegedly demanded in exchange for helping acquaintances acquire companies, concessions and contracts [under the IMF sponsored privatization program" (The News, InfoLatina, .Mexico, October 10, 1997).
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
In a bitter irony, it was only after this historical event, that Carlos Salinas' family links to the drug trade through his brother Raul were revealed.
The George H. W. Bush Senior administration was fully aware of the links of the Salinas presidency to organized crime. Public opinion in the US and Canada was never informed so as not to jeopardize the signing of NAFTA:
"Other former officials say they were pressured to keep mum because Washington was obsessed with approving NAFTA".
"The intelligence on corruption, especially by drug traffickers, has always been there," said Phil Jordan, who headed DEA's Dallas office from 1984 to 1994. But "we were under instructions not to say anything negative about Mexico. It was a no-no since NAFTA was a hot political football." (Dallas Morning News, 26 February 1997)In other words, at the time the NAFTA Agreement was signed, both Bush Senior and Mulroney were aware that one of the signatories of NAFTA, namely president Salinas de Gortiari had links to the Mexican Drug Cartel.
Salinas, who left Mexico in March 1995 after his brother, Raul, was charged with masterminding the murder of a political opponent, has served on the company's board for two years. He was questioned last year in Dublin by a Mexican prosecutor investigating the murder in March 1994 of Luis Donaldo Colosio, who wanted to succeed Salinas as president. A Dow Jones spokesman last week denied that Salinas had been forced out of an election for the new board, which will take place at the company's annual meeting on April 16… Salinas, who negotiated Mexico's entry into the free trade agreement with the United States and Canada, was appointed to the board because of his international experience. He was unavailable for comment at his Dublin home last week." (Sunday Times, London, 30 March 1997).Washington has consistently denied Carlos Salinas involvement. "it was his brother Raul", Carlos Salinas "did not know", the American media continued to uphold Salinas as a model statesman, architect of free trade in the Americas and a friend of the Bush family.
In October 1998, The Swiss government confirmed that the brother of the former Mexican president had deposited some 100 million in drug money in Swiss banks:
"They [Swiss authorities] are confiscating the money, which they believe was part of a much larger amount paid to Raul Salinas for helping Mexican and Colombian drugs cartels during his brother's six-year term ending in 1994. Mr Salinas' lawyers have maintained he was legally heading an investment fund for Mexican businessmen but the Swiss federal prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, described Salinas' business dealings as unsound, incomprehensible and contrary to customary business usage. (BBC Report)
"After [Carlos] Salinas left office in 1994, the Salinas family fell from grace in a swirl of drug-related corruption and crime scandals. Raúl was jailed and convicted on charges of money laundering and of masterminding the assassination of his brother-in-law; after spending 10 years in jail, Raúl was acquitted of both crimes. …
With the scandal unraveling, Jeb's friendship with Raúl did not go unnoticed. Jeb has never denied his friendship with Raúl, who [now] keeps a low profile in Mexico.
Kristy Campbell, spokesperson for Bush, did not respond a request for comment. The Salinas family's demise caught the Bushes by surprise. "I have been very disappointed by the allegations about him and his family. I never had the slightest hint of information that President Salinas was anything but totally honest," Bush senior told me in the 1997 interview. (Dolia Estevez, Jeb Bush's Mexican Connections, Forbes, April 7, 2015, emphasis added)"The Salinas family's demise caught the Bushes by surprise”? (Forbes, April 2015) The Bushes knew who they were all along.
Former DEA official Michael Levine confirmed that Carlos Salinas role in the Mexican drug cartel was known to US officials.
US President George H. W. Bush was regularly briefed by officials from the Department of Justice, the CIA and the DEA.
Did Jeb Bush –who is now a candidate for the White House under a Republican ticket– know about Raul's links to the Drug Cartel?
Was the Bush family in any way complicit?
These are issues which must be addressed and debated by the American public across the land prior to the 2016 presidential primary elections.
According to Andres Openheimer writing in the Miami Herald (February 17 1997):
"witnesses say former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, his imprisoned brother Raul and other members of country’s ruling elite met with drug lord Juan Garcia Abrego at a Salinas family ranch; Jeb Bush admits he met with Raul Salinas several times but has never done any business with him."US authorities waited until after Carlos Salinas finished his presidential term to arrest Mexican drug lord Juan Garcia Abrego, who was a close collaborator of the president's brother Raul. In turn, Raul Salinas was an "intimo amigo" of Jeb Bush :
Juan Garcia Abrego, a fugitive on the FBI's most-wanted list, was flown to Houston late Monday, following his arrest by Mexican police … Garcia Abrego, the reputed head of Mexico's second most powerful drug cartel, had eluded authorities on both sides of the border for years. His arrest is an enormous victory for the U.S. and Mexican governments. CNN, January 16, 2015But there is more than meets the eye: while the Bushes and the Salinas have longstanding ties, Wall Street was also involved in the laundering of drug money:
A U.S. official said the Justice Department has made significant advances in its money-laundering investigation against Raul Salinas de Gortari and has identified several people who can testify that the former first brother received protection money from a major narcotics cartel.
If the U.S. were to indict Mr. Salinas, it could have implications for a Justice Department investigation into possible money laundering by Citibank, where Mr. Salinas had some of his accounts. Citibank, a unit of Citicorp, has denied wrongdoing. (WSW, April 23, 2015)The involvement of Citbank in the money laundering operation is documented a Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs Report (US General Accounting Office "Private Banking: Raul Salinas, Citibank, and Alleged Money Laundering" Washington, 1998).
The End Game
Raul Salinas de Gortiari was set free in 2005. All charges were dropped.
The matter involving the Bushes and the Salinas has largely been forgotten.
Meanwhile, American political history has been rewritten…
Not to mention the 1992 "Free Trade" Agreement (NAFTA), which was signed by a head of State with links to organized crime. Does that make it an illegal agreement? The legitimacy of NAFTA has so far not been the object of a legal procedure of judicial inquiry.
An "illegal NAFTA" sets the stage for the TPP and TTIP "agreements" negotiated behind closed doors.
All is well in the American Republic.
At least until the forthcoming 2016 presidential elections.
This article is in part based on research conducted in 2002. The original GR 2002 article is entitled: Bush Family Financial Scams
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Kay Griggs: Colonel's Wife Tell-All Interview 1 of 4
Does Semper Fi mean, F#ck me in the Ass?
A reply to Kay Griggs Interviews
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