Problems with WDFW Administration

[ucwarden]

http://www.yakimaherald.com/photosandvideos/latestphotos/2562971-8/officers-faced-unexpected-complications-during-culmination-of-operation

http://www.yakimaherald.com/home/2544664-8/fish-and-wildlife-an-agency-split-in-two

[Kittman]

I've met a lot of good guys and gals working out in the field.  This is so sad and disappointing of what they all have to deal with.

[ucwarden]

I've met a lot of good guys and gals working out in the field.  This is so sad and disappointing of what they all have to deal with.

You are right on the mark.  Unfortunately a few can really mess things up for the majority.

[Bean Counter]

That Chief is a PIECE OF CRAP! He put officers lives in danger doing that stupid *censored* 

[Special T]

"A one day take down is quite the logicstal feat" Mike Hobbs

Yes especially when suspects are tipped off  By Administration ON THE NEWS!

[whacker1]

hopefully some other media outlets will take the story and reprint.

[Curly]

hopefully some other media outlets will take the story and reprint.

 

[Special T]

Here is one thing that i have heard from many sucessfull "Salesmen". (In this case your selling a message)

Persistance is the key to sucess. most great salesmen sound like broken records if you spend time around them... Why? Because they repeat the same stories jokes and discussions over and over. Persistance is the key to the game. Yes its important to refine your pitch and taylor it to the specific audience your with but REPITION is the key. YOU might be tired of the story YOU are telling! Regaurdless there are people who have not heard it and you never know when the right person will hear it.

I have heard this summerized statment from all kinds of salesmen. Guys slinging every kind of product imanginable, not to mention big media types.

[ucwarden]

"A one day take down is quite the logicstal feat" Mike Hobbs

Yes especially when suspects are tipped off  By Administration ON THE NEWS!

That does make things a bit more complicated, but then again there isn't as much evidence t deal with.

[Whitpirate]

“Vandivert’s a great storyteller. He could make it sound like Mother Teresa had the potential to take out an entire community,” Cenci said. “I talked to one suspect he had characterized as a bad guy, and I didn’t find him intimidating at all."  -- Mike Cenci


Yeah this doesn't sound like a pompous political ass here does it... just because you don't think so Mikey doesn't mean it isn't true...  Ted Bundy didn't look like a serial killer too bad we didn't have Mike's amazing ability to sniff out criminals on the case.


The real question I have is who is protecting him from above?  Was Anderson his benefactor?  Crown bumping him back up is just a payback potentially but who is protecting him if the airing of these grievances is seems at all reasonable?

[JimmyHoffa]

How's the whole civil rights violation lawsuit against Cenci going?  Haven't heard much about it lately.  Maybe he's too busy with the film crew for 'Rugged Justice'.

[ucwarden]

“Vandivert’s a great storyteller. He could make it sound like Mother Teresa had the potential to take out an entire community,” Cenci said. “I talked to one suspect he had characterized as a bad guy, and I didn’t find him intimidating at all."  -- Mike Cenci


Yeah this doesn't sound like a pompous political ass here does it... just because you don't think so Mikey doesn't mean it isn't true...  Ted Bundy didn't look like a serial killer too bad we didn't have Mike's amazing ability to sniff out criminals on the case.


The real question I have is who is protecting him from above?  Was Anderson his benefactor?  Crown bumping him back up is just a payback potentially but who is protecting him if the airing of these grievances is seems at all reasonable?

First of all I found that comment very entertaining.  I have found that when you contact as suspect in the jail, when he is wearing handcuffs, they most often aren't very intimidating.  But the real irony was, on that particular suspect Cenci himself warned us the suspect was dangerous. 

As to who is protecting Cenci?  I would say the director (since Cenci hired the director's son as an officer) and the commission chair Miranda Wecker (who spoke on his behalf in the news article).

[ucwarden]

How's the whole civil rights violation lawsuit against Cenci going?  Haven't heard much about it lately.  Maybe he's too busy with the film crew for 'Rugged Justice'.

Put the man in front of a camera and he's happy.  Well maybe not now.
I haven't heard anything new about the lawsuit.

[Little Dave]

Is it possible that Cenci had some connection with one of the poachers in Yakima?

I don't get the part about putting officers in danger or sending the media out, and asking the media to return after being turned away by the people in the line of fire.  If he did that because he is stupid, he should be fired.  If he did that because he wanted to use the media to notify his pals, or pal's supplier not yet served, he should be fired.

This is interesting enough to me that it would be worth suspending Cenci to investigate an obstruction of justice situation.  I'll send a note to the legislature, governor, and commission.

[ucwarden]

Is it possible that Cenci had some connection with one of the poachers in Yakima?

I don't get the part about putting officers in danger or sending the media out, and asking the media to return after being turned away by the people in the line of fire.  If he did that because he is stupid, he should be fired.  If he did that because he wanted to use the media to notify his pals, or pal's supplier not yet served, he should be fired.

This is interesting enough to me that it would be worth suspending Cenci to investigate an obstruction of justice situation.  I'll send a note to the legislature, governor, and commission.

I seriously doubt that, I don't see Cenci associating with those characters.

As for writing letters, I applaud your actions but don't get your hopes up, I have been at this for 2 years and have made very little progress.  The only legislator who seems to care at all is Senator Pearson (Snohomish County).  Focus your efforts on him.

[sakoshooter]

Sounds like Cenci is working for the wrong team.

[Knocker of rocks]

Is it possible that Cenci had some connection with one of the poachers in Yakima?

I don't get the part about putting officers in danger or sending the media out, and asking the media to return after being turned away by the people in the line of fire.  If he did that because he is stupid, he should be fired.  If he did that because he wanted to use the media to notify his pals, or pal's supplier not yet served, he should be fired.

This is interesting enough to me that it would be worth suspending Cenci to investigate an obstruction of justice situation.  I'll send a note to the legislature, governor, and commission.

Black helicopter stuff right there

[Bean Counter]

I don't get the part about putting officers in danger or sending the media out,

If you were serving a search warrant--going to arrest people on their own terrain and in an environment that you don't know--would you want them knowing that you're coming?

[Little Dave]

I don't get the part about putting officers in danger or sending the media out,

If you were serving a search warrant--going to arrest people on their own terrain and in an environment that you don't know--would you want them knowing that you're coming?

I'll spell that out a little more clearly for you.  I am wondering what it was that motivated Cenci in his important leadership role to effectively sabotage the operation.  There must have been some reason and whatever it was, probably interesting.  I could see an inexperienced or politically-motivated person pulling a stunt like that to bring media attention to self, but wouldn't expect an experienced, competent person to need to do that.  That is what I don't get.

[ucwarden]

I don't get the part about putting officers in danger or sending the media out,

If you were serving a search warrant--going to arrest people on their own terrain and in an environment that you don't know--would you want them knowing that you're coming?

I'll spell that out a little more clearly for you.  I am wondering what it was that motivated Cenci in his important leadership role to effectively sabotage the operation.  There must have been some reason and whatever it was, probably interesting.  I could see an inexperienced or politically-motivated person pulling a stunt like that to bring media attention to self, but wouldn't expect an experienced, competent person to need to do that.  That is what I don't get.

I don't get it either.  I worked undercover for my last 8 years, and during those 8 years I constantly battled with Cenci over his news releases.  I wrote letters to the chief pleading for him to stop Cenci from releasing details of our undercover cases, as it endangered us (myself and my partner), reduced our effectiveness and put cases in jeopardy.  The news releases continued.

Cenci always said WDFW needed the good press from our cases, and "we have to get out in front of the stories".  My answer was "That's fine, but don't volunteer the details of how we worked undercover or which cases were a result of undercover work".  I explained that WDFW could do a news release stating Joe Blow had his house searched and he was arrested by WDFW as the result of a x number of month investigation, without giving so much detail.

Cenci blamed some of the news stories on the media just showing up, but to that I recommended what the rest of the world of law enforcement says "No comment!!!".

Why he told the world we were coming on the take-down day for Operation Cody is anyone's guess.  I know he hasn't met a camera he doesn't love, but that was flat insane.  I have often wondered if he did so to try to kill our cases on-purpose, since he hates me with a passion, and has said (numerous times) that nobody gives a s@#$ about deer and elk.

Beyond that, I can't explain his actions.   

[Sitka_Blacktail]

The lawsuit against Cenci by the family in Cathlamet shows he doesn't know proper procedure and investigative techniques. He was desperately trying to "get them" and get it on the news. Sounds like he's more of a publicity hound than anything. He must have visions of higher office. Meanwhile he screws over the guys actually doing the meat and potatoes work.

[Little Dave]

Is it possible that Cenci had some connection with one of the poachers in Yakima?

I don't get the part about putting officers in danger or sending the media out, and asking the media to return after being turned away by the people in the line of fire.  If he did that because he is stupid, he should be fired.  If he did that because he wanted to use the media to notify his pals, or pal's supplier not yet served, he should be fired.

This is interesting enough to me that it would be worth suspending Cenci to investigate an obstruction of justice situation.  I'll send a note to the legislature, governor, and commission.

Black helicopter stuff right there

Yes it is black helicopter stuff.  It's just a guess because the actions don't make sense.  To contrast, it is another guess that he is pursuing media attention in this instance and more lately the "Rugged Justice" show for benevolent purposes like getting the people to put pressure on the legislature to fund his projects.  Or perhaps the attention is just to get personal attention to produce a promotion.  These are character calls, and I don't know the guy.  So the guess about the head of operations being party to the criminal activity can be set aside for a paperback somebody can write, but I wouldn't put it in a letter.

Whatever Cenci's motivation, media attention should not be prioritized higher than safety and that needs to be called out.

[bigtex]

I mentioned in the Operation Cody thread how Cenci is the WDFW Enforcement point-of-contact when it comes to legislation and how that may be why legislators won't do anything regarding him. Now I want to show you the budget and it's odd connection to Cenci. When agencies submit their budgets they submit a point-of-contact for each proposal. For the 2015-17 budget there are several WDFW Enforcement proposals. Now just remember, Crown is the Chief, Cenci is Deputy Chief for Marine enforcement, Hobbs is DC for land enforcement.

Proposals:
1-Eliminate 10 WDFW Officers that are funded out of the general fund. Point of contact: Cenci
2-Impose a shellfish tax to fund more WDFW Officers for shellfish enforcement. Point of contact: Cenci
3-Allocate funding to WDFW for marijuana eradication and rehabilitation. Point of contact: Cenci
4-Allocate funding for radio uprades. Point of contact: Johnson

As far as #1 goes both land and marine positions would be cut. So it's a toss-up, but you could easily put two point of contacts in for that proposal, it's done in non-enforcement proposals.

Now I can see why Cenci would be a contact for #2.

But why is the Deputy Chief who supposedly oversees marine issues the contact for marijuana eradication (#3)? Shouldn't Hobbs (the land guy) be responsible for that? Heck, Hobbs was one of the first officers on the WDFW marijuana eradication team.

#4 is also interesting. Johnson was the WDFW radio guy for several years and led WDFW's dispatch program. But he promoted to Lieutenant and is responsible for training and recruiting. Capt. Brinson is now the one responsible for radios, dispatch, and another program. Shouldn't the individual who oversees the radio program be the point of contact for the budget allocation? But then again Brinson was re-assigned out of his Region 6 Captains position to a HQ bi**h job because he wasn't really following in-line with HQ.

Just goes to show you how much the thrown of Cenci really spans. Cenci is the contact for all enforcement legislation, nearly all budget related proposals, and the list goes on. As far as I know, Hobbs has never even testified on a legislative bill, or been the point of contact for legislation or budget. Maybe that's because Crown/Cenci won't let him....


FYI, in the Governor's budget he seeks to eliminate two WDFW Officer positions.

[Knocker of rocks]

Is it possible that Cenci had some connection with one of the poachers in Yakima?

I don't get the part about putting officers in danger or sending the media out, and asking the media to return after being turned away by the people in the line of fire.  If he did that because he is stupid, he should be fired.  If he did that because he wanted to use the media to notify his pals, or pal's supplier not yet served, he should be fired.

This is interesting enough to me that it would be worth suspending Cenci to investigate an obstruction of justice situation.  I'll send a note to the legislature, governor, and commission.

Black helicopter stuff right there

Yes it is black helicopter stuff.  It's just a guess because the actions don't make sense.  To contrast, it is another guess that he is pursuing media attention in this instance and more lately the "Rugged Justice" show for benevolent purposes like getting the people to put pressure on the legislature to fund his projects.  Or perhaps the attention is just to get personal attention to produce a promotion.  These are character calls, and I don't know the guy.  So the guess about the head of operations being party to the criminal activity can be set aside for a paperback somebody can write, but I wouldn't put it in a letter.

Whatever Cenci's motivation, media attention should not be prioritized higher than safety and that needs to be called out.

Cenci might be a little dumb, or made a mistake.  But to accuse him of using the media to tip off the perps, ala Whitey Bulger and the FBI, is preposterous

[Skillet]

I don't think it is preposterous at all to think that a guy like Cenci would try and limit the effectiveness of an operation he clearly didn't support by reducing the element of surprise.

[pd]

Hmmmm.

This is the first time I have ever paid attention to this issue.  (In that sense, UCWarden, you have done well to spread the news.)  BigTex's details really trouble me--let me see if I get this straight:
*Cenci crashes a few rigs, demotes himself, Crown get's kicked upstairs far past his level of competence.
*Crown then appoints Cenci as his deputy chief (but only for marine affairs).
*Cenci somehow becomes the legislative point-of-contact (i.e. "gate keeper") for almost everything.

Cenci seems to have the support of less than half of enforcement officers within the agency, and returns the favor by reducing their numbers.  For those of us with experience with the agency in Olympia, let me be the first to testify there are many areas of waste that could be eliminated to funds those officers.

It seems to me (very uniformed opinion, mind you) that Cenci is the wizard behind the curtain.  There is something very fishy in this House of Denmark. 

My question to you (BigTex): Why is the legislature not poking around?  Your opinion would suffice.

I have seen the oversight committees in both the House and the Senate, and they really treat DFW with kid gloves.  I have never understood this.

[bigtex]

This is the first time I have ever paid attention to this issue.  (In that sense, UCWarden, you have done well to spread the news.)  BigTex's details really trouble me--let me see if I get this straight:
*Cenci crashes a few rigs, demotes himself, Crown get's kicked upstairs far past his level of competence.
*Crown then appoints Cenci as his deputy chief (but only for marine affairs).
*Cenci somehow becomes the legislative point-of-contact (i.e. "gate keeper") for almost everything.

Cenci seems to have the support of less than half of enforcement officers within the agency, and returns the favor by reducing their numbers.  For those of us with experience with the agency in Olympia, let me be the first to testify there are many areas of waste that could be eliminated to funds those officers.

It seems to me (very uniformed opinion, mind you) that Cenci is the wizard behind the curtain.  There is something very fishy in this House of Denmark. 

My question to you (BigTex): Why is the legislature not poking around?  Your opinion would suffice.

I have seen the oversight committees in both the House and the Senate, and they really treat DFW with kid gloves.  I have never understood this.

Well I want to clarify one thing. Within enforcement you have 4 types of enforcement detachments. A detachment is a essentially the workgoup of officers who are supervised by a sergeant.
1- Land detachments who primarily focus on land issues
2- Marine detachments who primarly focus on marine issues
3- Land detachments who focus on both land and marine issues
4- Marine detachments who focus on both marine and land issues

Historically, #1 and #3 were overseen by the Regional Captains (4 and 6) while #2 and #4 were overseen by the Marine Captain. There was a period of a couple years where the Marine Captain position was vacant (after Cenci first promoted to Deputy Chief) and the Regional Captains oversaw all the detachments within their region.

When Crown made Cenci Deputy Chief of Marine Operations not only did he give him detachments that fall under category #2 and #4, but they also turned some detachments that fell under #3 into #4. So you had detachments that had always operated as land detachments who also covered the water suddenly going from reporting to the local Regional Captain to now reporting to the Deputy Chief of Marine Operations (Cenci.) So what does this mean? Well one change is that now the Officers in Klickitat County no longer report to the Captain in Yakima but rather to Cenci. Prior to this big change the Marine Division really stopped on the Columbia at the Clark/Wahkiakum County line, but when this change happened suddenly the Marine Division spanned all the way to the Benton/Klickitat County line. So realistically, Cenci doesn't just oversee marine operations, but rather officers assigned to marine detachments, many of which also have land enforcement responsibilities.

As far as reducing number of officers. That came down from the state budget people. WDFW was told to cut 15% of their budget for 2015-17. Enforcement said let's cut 10 officers from the general fund, but they hope to fund officers off of the shellfish tax. If I remember correctly, under this idea there would be a net loss of just two officers. But like I said, Inslee is only looking at eliminating two positions. If you know anything about Cenci, he tries to gobble up as much money as possible, whether it be from the legislature, outside funding contracts, etc. So I don't think he's trying to hurt officer numbers.

Like I said in my post in the other thread, I think the reason legislators won't look into Cenci is because they know him. He has been the face of WDFW Enforcement in the capitol building for several years now, it wouldn't surprise me if he's even gotten to be friends with several legislators. Who do you think a legislator would go after, someone they've never heard of, or someone who every year is sitting in front of them testifying on bills, and working with them to ensure they pass?

[pd]

......Like I said in my post in the other thread, I think the reason legislators won't look into Cenci is because they know him. He has been the face of WDFW Enforcement in the capitol building for several years now, it wouldn't surprise me if he's even gotten to be friends with several legislators. Who do you think a legislator would go after, someone they've never heard of, or someone who every year is sitting in front of them testifying on bills, and working with them to ensure they pass?

Thank you for the clarification and perspective. 

I know where I would put my money on the new director.

[ucwarden]

Here is a letter to the editor, which appeared in the Chinook Observer:
chinookobserver.com/co/letters/20141223/letters-to-the-editor

Writer says change is needed in WDFW
WDFW Director Phil Anderson is retiring this month, December 2014. Why is that important? Think of those jockeying for coveted moves up the promotion ladder.
My best guess is the current WDFW Deputy Chief Mike Cenci and his inner sanctum of cohorts are already planning their move. Who are these people in Deputy Chief Mike Cenci’s circle? The litmus test is which ones are embracing the Mike Cenci way of doing business.
Do you want business as usual at WDFW headquarters? I don’t. I am weary of the bullying, intimidation and harassment tactics employed by this bunch. I am alarmed at the spin Cenci puts on events.
An example is the book “Operation Cody” by Todd Vandivert. Read that book, then read Cenci’s take on that two-year period of investigation of wildlife traffickers in Washington state. The book tells how Cenci went on live TV the morning warrants were being served and announced to all listeners that warrants were in motion. This information put all law enforcement officers at risk that day and warned the traffickers of pending warrants and arrests giving them time to lawyer up and destroy evidence. The fact that Cenci kept his job speaks volumes about the impotence of his superiors.
I have reported wrongdoing committed by WDFW officers through the years not knowing of this inner circle bond within WDFW administration. I was naïve believing reporting to WDFW headquarters was the way to go. Since then I have realized it is best to bypass them so a reported infraction will see the light of day and not a trashcan. Also it would hopefully reduce the risk of retaliation. There is that risk. Believe me, I know. However, if enough people report wrongdoing, that collective statement could make a difference instead of being picked off one by one.
Now is the time to bring those infractions to the light. Contact Sen. Kirk Pearson, kirkpearson@leg.wa.gov. 115-D Newhouse Bldg., P.O. Box 40439, Olympia, WA 98501-0439. 360-786-7676 or 800-562-6000; the WDFW Commission, 600 Capitol Way, N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091, commission@dfw.wa.gov. 360-902-2267. Fax 360-902-2448; and Gov. Jay Inslee, P.O. Box 40002, Olympia, WA 98504-0802. 360-902-4111, Fax 360-753-4110.
We need honest, professional WDFW officers running headquarters. We need this to repair the damage done by current and previous impotent administrators whose ego, power plays and self-preservation led to such dysfunction in WDFW.
Bring back those good officers run out by this pack. Rehire, promote those officers that would end the slaughter of our fish and wildlife resources. We need those men and women officers who would be good stewards of WDFW. We deserve this.
Carolyn A. Crawford
Naselle

[Bean Counter]

An example is the book “Operation Cody” by Todd Vandivert. Read that book, then read Cenci’s take on that two-year period of investigation of wildlife traffickers in Washington state. The book tells how Cenci went on live TV the morning warrants were being served and announced to all listeners that warrants were in motion. This information put all law enforcement officers at risk that day and warned the traffickers of pending warrants and arrests giving them time to lawyer up and destroy evidence. The fact that Cenci kept his job speaks volumes about the impotence of his superiors. ..

  I wonder if Chief Cenci and Mr. DeBlasio are old buddies...

[Skillet]

Possibly a little off-topic and not sure if it has been shared before, but the fact Cenci is still in uniform definitely speaks to the WDFW administration's tolerance for this type of behavior.  In this little gem I just found, you'll find a good summary of why Cenci is subject to a civil suit brought by these men. 

Cenci and four other enforcement officers found to be willfully violating commercial fisherman's 4th Amendment Rights-

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/45/4526.asp


Clearly this man operates on a different level than most enforcement officers, but can obviously bend others to his will...  a leadership quality of a troubling kind.

[huntnphool]

I don't get the part about putting officers in danger or sending the media out,

If you were serving a search warrant--going to arrest people on their own terrain and in an environment that you don't know--would you want them knowing that you're coming?

I am wondering what it was that motivated Cenci in his important leadership role to effectively sabotage the operation.  There must have been some reason and whatever it was, probably interesting.  I could see an inexperienced or politically-motivated person pulling a stunt like that to bring media attention to self, but wouldn't expect an experienced, competent person to need to do that.

 Exactly what I was wondering.

[Bean Counter]

Well I'd be good with his announcement, so long as he is the first man with a gun to walk through the front door after it is kicked in.

[ucwarden]

Well I'd be good with his announcement, so long as he is the first man with a gun to walk through the front door after it is kicked in.

I know your comment is tongue in cheek, but I (and many others involved in Operation Cody) were not happy.  Releasing the details of our operation and search warrants, before we had served all of the warrants, put officers and the cases themselves (evidence tends to go away before we get there) in serious jeopardy.  We were very fortunate that nobody was hurt, and at the end of the day we had just lost some evidence.
It was a day I will never forget, because I didn't anyone....not even Cenci, would be so reckless.

[ucwarden]

As many of you know, on January 14th, I testified about the very serious problems with WDFW enforcement's administration (primarily with Chief Crown and Deputy Chief Cenci), to the Senate Natural Resources Committee.  The hearing was spearheaded by Senators Pearson and Hewitt, who are sincerely concerned about what is going on.  The committee members are continuing to receive input from both sides of the issue, so now is the time to express you thoughts and concerns.  If you want to see change occur, in order to get Washington's Fish and Wildlife officers back on track-catching poachers, then please contact Senators Hewitt and Pearson ASAP and let them know where you stand.  You can email them at:  mike.hewitt@leg.wa.gov and kirk.pearson@leg.wa.gov.

Thanks to all of you for your support!

[ucwarden]

Check out this article:  http://www.northkitsapherald.com/news/291307771.html

[timberfaller]

After reading ALL of this,  I can only draw from personal experience.   Having worked around "people" of what sounds like Cenci's temperament(in the articles), they ALL had one common flaw,  They were good at LYING to your face.  AND NONE could be Trusted in their "positions" and in my personal experience they were Boss's.  Even seen the "wrecked" rigs and seen the "hand slaps" they received!

Also having "volunteered" for the agency for 25+years now,  IT should have never been allowed, that the Fisheries been paired up with the former Game Department.   The "rift" has NEVER been addressed(that was mentioned in one of the press releases) ,  largely because when the "Fisheries" came in, they became the "heads" of just about every sub-department.   EVEN the Hunter Ed. department.   The "micro management" that followed(by Fish people)was pure stupidity, costing numerous "volunteers" quitting as a result. 

I would say, Something does stink in Denmark, aka Olympia!!

[ucwarden]

After reading ALL of this,  I can only draw from personal experience.   Having worked around "people" of what sounds like Cenci's temperament(in the articles), they ALL had one common flaw,  They were good at LYING to your face.  AND NONE could be Trusted in their "positions" and in my personal experience they were Boss's.  Even seen the "wrecked" rigs and seen the "hand slaps" they received!

Also having "volunteered" for the agency for 25+years now,  IT should have never been allowed, that the Fisheries been paired up with the former Game Department.   The "rift" has NEVER been addressed(that was mentioned in one of the press releases) ,  largely because when the "Fisheries" came in, they became the "heads" of just about every sub-department.   EVEN the Hunter Ed. department.   The "micro management" that followed(by Fish people)was pure stupidity, costing numerous "volunteers" quitting as a result. 

I would say, Something does stink in Denmark, aka Olympia!!

While I don't think the merger was a bad idea, it has been poorly handled since.