“Pete Forcelli did what members of the U.S. Congress encourage government employees to do: he spoke up when he saw misconduct within the federal government,” the synopsis for The Deadly Path: How Operation Fast & Furious and Bad Lawyers Armed Mexican Cartels, reads. But choosing to be a whistleblower almost cost Forcelli, a since-retired ATF deputy assistant director, his job, his possessions, and his reputation as a law enforcement official.
The book holds a special interest for me. As the “blogger” who, along with the late citizen journalist Mike Vanderboegh, first reported on the connection between the slaying of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “walking” guns to Mexico, Forcelli was one of the subjects of our reporting.