When Craig Patty hired a new driver to operate one of the two trucks in his burgeoning fleet, he never expected that the man he hired had anything less that the pristine background that he saw on the job application. He wouldn’t have imagined that a government agency had falsified the criminal history report of his new employee so that they could use him as an informant. And he would never have believed that the DEA would refuse to offer him protection or pay for the damages after they used the informant in a botched sting operation that resulted in the destruction of his truck and death of his employee at the hands of the notorious Zetas drug cartel.
And yet, that’s exactly what happened.
The employee’s name was Lawrence Chapa and even though he had an extensive criminal record, the DEA wiped that clean so that he would be able to pass the background check that Patty ran when he was hired. They were planning on using him as part of an operation that would catch members of the Zetas drug trafficking crime syndicate. Patty was never informed that his driver was anything more than he appeared to be.
One day Chapas was supposedly taking the truck for repairs in Houston when he was in fact driving a truck full of marijuana to the border and back for the DEA. He was being escorted by officers wearing plain clothes who were ready to bust the drug traffickers when the drugs were delivered.
The sting went horribly wrong when the truck was ambushed in broad daylight by three vehicles who opened fire on the truck, killing Chapas and severely damaging the truck. Two law enforcement officers were injured and four suspects were taken into custody and charged with capital murder.
Patty knew nothing about any of this until he received a call that his driver had been murdered and that he would have to come remove his damaged vehicle at his own expense or pay storage charges. Patty received neither an apology from the DEA nor any money to pay for repairs of the vehicle. Furthermore, his insurance company refused to pay for the damages since the truck had been used for illegal activities. He paid to have the truck removed and repaired by taking money out of his retirement plan.
Since his request for the DEA to pay for the damages was ignored, Patty is suing the DEA for up to $6.4 million. The price tag includes the cost of repairs, lost income from not being able to use the truck during the time it was damaged, and for emotional hardship. Patty and his family have been living in fear since the attack, worried that the Zetas cartel might mistakenly think that he had something to do with the operation and come to exact revenge.
According to an interview with the Houston Chronicle he and his family still jump at every noise, from deer on their yard to a car pulling in to the driveway.
“I’ve gone to great lengths to keep my son believing in Santa Claus,” Patty said. “And now I’m talking to him about death, mayhem and drug cartels.”
Next Story: HOS Changes Rolled Back For Some, May Role Back For All
Source: abc, fox, houstonchronicle
ConcernedCitizen says
Typical. The feds do what they want, no liability or remorse. They screw with the lives of innocent citizens trying to make an honest living and ignore them when they seek compensation for damages. Why aren’t more people outraged by this? When will this insanity end? Why isn’t there a bunch of citizens marching at the White House demanding change? The government doesn’t fear it’s citizens and the citizens fear the government. “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” -Thomas Jefferson
Unbelievable says
Wow……..I hope that national media gets a hold of this story.
Sue them for as much as you can!!!!!
Matti-M80 says
Glad the War on Drugs is going so swimmingly. Ever heard the phrase “War is hell”? Well, thats what we get. End the prohibition and we can put a stop to this!
michael says
The Feds profit directly from their alleged ‘war on drugs’. The “Zetas drug trafficking crime syndicate” musta been unauthorized competition and we all know how much any criminal gov’t hates that!
Stan says
Wow, just ,,,,,,wow!
Ray says
I echo that.
Rudy says
Sad news for the driver. But who names their son Patty?
Rudy says
My bad……Patty is his last name.
michael says
LOL ‘Patsy’ would be more accurate!
Ray says
Very disturbing. I hope Craig wins his lawsuit and is never bothered by the cartel.
Paul says
DEA seize up BILLIONS of drug money and cant shell $100,000 on trucks repair??? What a BS. Insurance should cover the damages and go after DEA for money.
John Davis says
Ehh, the Feds dont give a shift. They just want to look like heroes. They need to butt the hail out of peoples lives. Im tired of this “big brother” BS. Someone needs to punch big bro in his nose. They think we’re bafoons incapable of thinking for ourselves. Im all about gun rights. Im a grown man. I can take care of myself. I dont need some a-hole playing the daddy role to me. Seriously.
Cliff says
Tell them to buy ther’re oun trucks. No need for one with the current carb clean air standards.
Plenty of old Mexican legal trucks to shoot up.Do ther’re jobs and leave us alone.
Rv says
Wow that’s heart heart breaking. I pray for our fellow truckers. We are a target for over regulation and now the DEA.
We must understand that Americans consume the most drugs world wide! The “war” on drugs has failed at the cost of billions of dollars and ruin life’s. Spin it how you like we are fighting drugs the wrong way.
sam says
Patty won the ‘bad luck lottery’ = where a lightning bolt hits you, your house catches on fire, lots of bad things happen to you. Of course the insurance company refusing to make him whole is standard behavior. I suggest he drag the insurance company into court as well, Patty didn’t load up the MJ, nor was he going to profit from the sale. If the driver weren’t dead, I’d add to sue the driver, sue everyone who lied to him, used him and tried to bankrupt his company.
Keith says
Typical actions of a government run by criminals, who operate in the name of government, under the color of law.
Also, clever of the insurance company to disallow compensation to Mr Patty. Insurance: little more than a racket.
ploof says
Believe me as someone who knows, you can count on it that if the government is involved, lying, corruption and murder will always be a part of life.