Helvenston Et Al. V. Blackwater Security - Facts & Allegations KATY HELVENSTON: Yeah. The suit further alleges that McQuown intervened and ordered only a four-man team be sent, although six were available, the other two remaining to perform clerical duties. What theyre trying to do is to say, Lookwe can do anything we want and not be held accountable. KATY HELVENSTON: Well, I had been in contact with the Zovkos, primarily out of Cleveland, prior to that. AMY GOODMAN: Did they say it was Fallujah? And he wrote me back and said, Hi, Jeremy, Im the appropriate person to deal with on this, and he said he would entertain my questions and go over them with counsel. Given the uncounted tens of thousands of Iraqis who have died since the invasion and the slaughter in Falluja that followed the Blackwater incident, some might say this lawsuit is just warmongers bickeringno honor among thieves. And it all stems back to the point: if these folks had known that Blackwater was going to cut costs and was going to not provide them with everything that they were promised, would they have still done it? We will hunt down the criminals. AMY GOODMAN: Jeremy Scahill, unfortunately, we were not able to get Blackwater on, writing us the letter and saying no. Callahan says that if Blackwater and McQuown had done in the United States what they are alleged to have done in Iraq, There would be criminal charges against them. What happened between McQuown and Helvenston was no mere personality conflict. And I think that, you know, when we talk about Iraq corruption, a lot of times its Halliburton overcharged for this or Bechtel did this. He was an incredible athlete his whole life. But instead, they missed that turnoff, and they ended up driving straight through the center of Fallujah, and it was as they got through the middle of town that they got stuck in traffic, that they were ultimately ambushed. They deleted the word armored. And Marc Miles says that in doing that, Blackwater was able to save $1.5 million. The suit alleges that Blackwater trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown resented Helvenston and deliberately reassigned Helvenston to the team that was ambushed. But on March 12, 2004, Blackwater and Regency signed a subcontract, which specified security provisions identical to the original except for one word: armored. Blackwater deleted it from the contract. I wasnt kidding. And this becomes very important, as Marc Miles talks about, because you have to prove intent. He would have to reimburse any monies that had been paid to him, and he was on his own to get home. Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. Hes protecting Paul Bremer. But the day went on, and all of a sudden it was Blackwater. JUAN GONZALEZ: When were you officially notified that it was him? There is not a whole lot of jobs out there for ex-Special Forces guys, and obviously he didnt realize that at the time. Thank you so much. Lets see if we can screw with Scott. placementName: "thenation_right_rail", AMY GOODMAN: What did he think he was going to be doing? And theres all sorts of Scott speaks to us posthumously through his email, and I just want to read from this. AMY GOODMAN: And then he was in a Survivor-like program called Combat Missions? They were not provided with the armored vehicles or able to do the pre-trip inspection or the risk assessment. But their personal contracts also warned of death and/or injury caused by everything from civil uprising and terrorist activity to poisoning and flying debris. In filing its motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Blackwater quoted from its standard contract, insisting that those who sign it fully appreciate the dangers and voluntarily assume these risks as well as any other risks in any way (whether directly or indirectly) connected to the Engagement.. So the next morning they were off.. Now, imagine that every person in that small town in America has guns and is running around with weapons. We will not be intimidated, he said. Suit Alleges | Technology Trends Helvenston Et Al. It has fought to have the case dismissed on grounds that because Blackwater is servicing US armed forces it cannot be sued for workers deaths or injuries and that all liability lies with the government. Username. Erik Prince and his late wife gave $275,000 since 1989 to various political candidates, not a single penny ever to a Democrat. It mostly was, Mom, please dont worry, Im OK. Im gonna be home soon and Im gonna see ya. And both the boys knew that if they were going to go through college, they had to figure out a way. I couldnt believe I was talking to the man. KATY HELVENSTON: I was in my home office doing research, and I was on the computer and I had CNN on. Blackwater founder Erik Prince personally delivered money to some of the families for funeral expenses, and the company moved to get the mens wives and children benefits under the governments Defense Base Act, which in some cases insures those on contract supporting US military operations abroad. So I sent Blackwater about 23 specific questions, and from that first email that Chris Taylor sent me, I never heard back. The article is called Blood Is Thicker Than Blackwater. JEREMY SCAHILL: I was very diligent in trying to get Blackwater to make any comment. AMY GOODMAN: Moyock in North Carolina, where Blackwater is based. They could have easily traveled this route in a single day, and it would have been extremely less dangerous. mcquown in a sentence - mcquown sentence He was dead. Its lead counsel is Greenberg Traurig, the influential DC law firm that once employed lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Anyway, there was a safer route that they could take north of the city that would take them about three hours to get to the other side. He trained Demi Moore for her film G.I. In fact, from what I understand, and folks that we have talked to, they had asked for a map shortly before going out on their mission, and basically the individual who was in charge of handing out the maps said, Its too late for a map now, and sent them on their way. JUAN GONZALEZ: And this is a series of articles about this incident? The GOPs War Against Trans People Is a War Against Democracy, Green Rationales for Harsher Immigration Policies Are Nothing New, Gun Violence: A Week of Response to the Weak Republican Response to Mass Shootings in the USA. Had they had a rear gunner, had they had armored vehicles, a very strong case could be made that they never would have been killed. So Donna and I think the check was like it was quite a bit of money. Scotty had tried to call me in the middle of the night, Katy Helvenston remembers. Justin Shreck. The other guys were Army Rangers, and they were all very, very experienced combat soldiers. Im driven and Im not going to quit. The killing was March 31. I mean, Scotty excelled at anything he attempted, and he always had to be the best. AMY GOODMAN: Each of you in separate hotels? had a contract with Halliburton with K.B.R., the subsidiary of Halliburton. President Bush issued a statement through his spokesperson. Scotty chose Blackwater, because they had a two-month contract, and he could be back home. It is unusual, though, for the head of a company to cast its lot entirely with one party, and it has paid off, because Blackwater literally is making a killing right now, to the point where Gary Jackson, the president of Blackwater, after Bush won the election in 2004, sends out an email to Blackwaters mailing list that says, Bush wins, four more years!! The families of four private security contractors killed in Fallujah in March 2004 have filed a ground-breaking lawsuit charging Blackwater USA with fraud and wrongful death. In early 2004 Helvenston was between jobs and was eking out a living with the stints on reality TV, the movie consulting and the fitness videos. AMY GOODMAN: What about the other families? The suit alleges that Blackwater trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown resented Helvenston and deliberately reassigned Helvenston to the team that was ambushed. Erik Prince, himself, for this piece I worked with the Center for Public Integrity, and we put together a profile of Erik Princes familys political contributions. When Democracy Now! Without the big gun, without the third man, without the armored vehicle, they were sitting ducks, says Callahan. So they announced there was going to be a memorial service after you made the call to the head of Blackwater, asking for an incident report. Now, thats not unusual for, you know, a lifelong Republican to give that kind of money. And so, I called a really good friend of mine, and they were godparents to both my children. Scott Helvenston Net Worth 2023: Wiki Bio, Married, Dating, Family Name. Mr. Rumsfeld . Did they assume the risk? We speak with Jeremy Scahill as well as Katy Helvenston, the mother of Scott Helvenston who was killed in Fallujah, and the attorney in the case, Marc Miles. Regards, Chris Taylor of Blackwater.. The insurgents made their own video of the aftermath. It is regrettable and inaccurate to suggest that Mr. McQuown contributed in any way to this terrible tragedy.. Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. They were not provided with the six folks that they were supposed to have in each vehicle. Marc Miles, why is this lawsuit groundbreaking? COL. JOHN A. TOOLAN: Unfortunately, it was going out on CNN. Helvenston et al. v. Blackwater Security | Military Wiki | Fandom The suit further alleges that McQuown intervened and ordered only a four-man team be sent, although six were available, the other two remaining to perform clerical duties. Did you have luck getting Blackwater responding? KATY HELVENSTON: Yes, and Mark Burnett produced that movie. This is a rush transcript. Attorney Marc Miles says that shortly after the suit was filed, he asked the court in North Carolina for an expedited order to depose John Potter. And I presume that thats the defense that Blackwater is going to make. Reading this, it would seem that Blackwater has a reasonable defense. And so, what happened is they set out on their mission, but because they didnt have G.P.S., because they didnt have maps of the area, because they werent able to do a pre-trip inspection of the route, they didnt necessarily know where they were going, so they essentially got lost. You need to show intent. The remains of two of the men are strung up on a bridge over the Euphrates River and left to dangle. And so, this lawsuit represents the first whack at the giants legs, and if its successful, it will reverberate around the war profiteer community. In this e-mail, obtained by The Nation, he complained that the behavior of McQuown (referred to as "Justin Shrek" in the e-mail) was "very manipulative, duplicitive [sic], immature and unprofessional." He describes how his original team leader tried to appeal to Shrek not to reassign him, but, Helvenston wrote, "I think [the team leader] felt . He was a great golfer. He spent 12 years in the Navy SEALs until he left in 1994 as an E-6 (Quartermaster First Class).Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. Now, they were ultimately to get to the other side of Fallujah. In addition, the paper reports, Blackwater billed Regency separately for all its overhead and costs in Iraq. Regency would then bill ESS an unknown amount for these services. STUDENT: I was hoping your answer might be a little more specific. And Blackwater has only scratched the surface of it.. But late on the evening of March 27, McQuown called Helvenston and told him that he needed to pack his things immediately, that he would be leaving at 5 am with a completely different team. v. Blackwater Security is the lawsuit for wrongful death filed by the families of the four contractors for Blackwater Security (since renamed Academi) murdered in the 31 March 2004 Fallujah ambush.The families of the four men, led by Scott Helvenston's mother Katy Helvenston-Wettengel and Donna Zovko, Jerry Zovko's mother, filed suit against Blackwater with lawyer Daniel . Blackwater has not offered a rebuttal to the specific allegations made by the families, except to deny in general that they are valid. You dont just stick a Navy Seal on a brand new team with guys and send them into a combat zone. After the training session, Helvenston got on a plane to Kuwait, where he touched down on March 18. This is what delegationI dont mean to be dodging the question, although its kind of convenient in this case, but never[laughter] I really willIm going to call the Secretary and say you brought up a very valid question, and what are we doing about it? However, when youre talking about an assumption of the risk, youre talking about a calculated assumption of risk. Beast, he was the only contestant to defeat the beast, outmaneuvering a chimpanzee in an obstacle course. justin shrek'' mcquown MARC MILES: Well, what were going to prove at trial is that because Blackwater essentially cut corners and because of this personal animosity that Justin McQuown had with Scott Helvenston, they werent allowed to gather intelligence and do the pre-tip inspection and all of the things that they were told that they would be allowed to do and that is actually represented in the contracts for the mission that they were doing work under. And the people he had been with in Kuwait City, all of a sudden he was no longer working in that team. Blackwater in the Crosshairs: The Families of Four Private Security I wrote an email to Gary Jackson, the president of Blackwater. Sign up for our free daily newsletter, along with occasional offers for programs that support our journalism. I would support them in any way I could, but they had to figure out how to get through college. The other two were kept behind at Blackwaters Baghdad facility to perform clerical duties. is a 501(c)3 non-profit news organization. A few nights before Scott was killed, and actually the night before he left Kuwait to go to Baghdad, he sent an email to the owner, president and upper management of Blackwater, and the subject of that email was extreme unprofessionalism. And in this email, which we have, he is complaining about Justin McQuown, who he refers to as Justin Shrek. Scott Helvenston apparently thought his actual name was Shrek and was referring to him as Justin Shrek throughout the email. K.B.R. Justin McQuown's nickname, according to documents we've gotten and to other people who were in Kuwait and Iraq at the time, was "Shrek," after the green ogre character, and it doesn't . units for the United States, which doesnt do a lot of good over there. The night before he left, Helvenston sent an e-mail to the Owner, President and Upper Management of Blackwater, subject: extreme unprofessionalism. In this e-mail, obtained by The Nation, he complained that the behavior of McQuown (referred to as Justin Shrek in the e-mail) was very manipulative, duplicitive [sic], immature and unprofessional. He describes how his original team leader tried to appeal to Shrek not to reassign him, but, Helvenston wrote, I think [the team leader] felt that there was a hidden agenda. Jane movie, and he ended up playing a small role on the film, because the guy that was supposed to play the Navy Seal instructor was terrified of the ocean. According to Department of Labor statistics, at least 425 U.S. civilians have died in Iraq including at least 22 Blackwater contractors. But, anyway, thats another story. Now, back in the United States, these killings were taken as a threat or a challenge to Americas resolve in the White House and immediately became a sort of turning point in the war. But they had put all of the news stuff in a closet, and I pulled it out, and I got the names of the other three families. Helvenston v. Blackwater Security Wiki KATY HELVENSTON: Scottys daddy died when he was seven, and my youngest son was a year old, and I raised them, and so money was always an issue. Contract - ww-article-cache-1.s3.amazonaws.com But he says he was, quote, very manipulative, duplicative, immature and unprofessional.. AMY GOODMAN: Now, he was on television before he went to Iraq, is that right? This is a precedent-setting case, says Marc Miles, an attorney for the families. They were told that they were able to do a pre-trip inspection of the routes and be able to familiarize themselves with the area before going on routes. But he chose to go with Blackwater, because they had a two-month contract, and he did not want to leave his children more than two months. According to the lawsuit, It was virtually unheard of to take a single person, like Scott Helvenston, and place him on a different group with whom he had never trained or even met. Helvenston resisted the change. Helvenston arrived in Kuwait on March 18, where he was under the management of John and Kathy Potter, whom he knew from Combat Missions. I asked your Secretary of Defense a couple of months ago what law governs their actions. Promised Iraqis Justice. Explore Scott Helvenston net worth, bio, age, height, family, wiki, birthday, career, salary [Last Update 2021]! And he came up to Scotts room a couple days before Scott was murdered and got into an altercation, and he took Scotts gun away from him. Not so, say the families of the four men and their lawyers. And so, then I started I had never read any articles. Since the team was driving without a rear-gunner and did not have armored vehicles, the insurgents were able to literally walk up behind the vehicles and shoot all four men with small arms at close range, the suit alleges. And Im reading these articles, and all of a sudden . He reported . Without a detailed map, they took the most direct route, through the center of Falluja. Helvenston's contract On occasion, Helvenston would attempt to politely assist McQuown by offering his expertise on the correct manner of the particular training exercise. Over a thousand people died because of what happened to Scotty that day, says Katy Helvenston. When we cover the climate emergency, our reporting isnt sponsored by the oil, gas, coal or nuclear companies. According to the suit, McQuown lacked the credentials of Helvenston and other ex-SEALs. covers war or gun violence, were not brought to you by the weapons manufacturers. They were escorting three empty trucks on their way to pick up some kitchen equipment at a base west of Fallujah. Kathy Potter told the News and Observer that Regency would quote ESS a price, say $1,500 per man per day, and then tell Blackwater that it had quoted ESS $1,200. ESS then contracted with Halliburton subsidiary KBR, which in turn billed the government an unknown amount of money for the same security services, according to the paper. Blackwater is able to operate over there in Iraq free from any oversight that would typically exist in a civilized society. It was good money, but it was never enough, his mother remembers. Eventually, their corpses are chopped and burned. And it goes through all the other ones. Tell us about your family, why he went into the military, and then what you understand about what he understood about the mission he went out on on March 31. Scott Helvenston - Reality TV World Simply Ernest: Pity the poor mercenary - Blogger And so, did they assume the risk? And when we come back from break, Katy, I want to ask you if Scott felt ready to go out on that day, March 31, 2004. There he was. According to the suit, Blackwater was gung-ho to start in order to impress ESS and win further contracts. The suit alleges that Blackwater trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown resented Helvenston and deliberately reassigned Helvenston to the team that was ambushed. You know, I need to meet with these people.. In one, Man vs. Name. Help. JEREMY SCAHILL: Well, as we got a few of the facts of the case from the clip that we just played from Frontline, but I also want to say that the four men I just want to say their names: Scott Helvenston, of course, is Katys son; then there was Mike Teague; Jerko Zovko, who was known as Jerry; and then Wes Batalona, who was talked about there. KATY HELVENSTON: He did call me that morning from I assume it was from that base that he stopped at. By the time I got the message hed already been killed., Shortly after Helvenston left that message, the men left the base and set out for their destination. In its motion to dismiss the case in federal court, Blackwater argues that the families of the four men killed in Falluja are entitled only to government insurance payments. These men were told that theyd be operating in armored vehicles. KATY HELVENSTON: He has two beautiful children, and he was an incredible father. [6] But one thing to stress here, and this is what the lawsuit alleges, its not just wrongful death, its also fraud. In the presentation, called Managing Contracting Risks in Battlefield Conditions, Capace laid out a legal strategy for deflecting the kind of lawsuit Blackwater now faces. There was a manmade pond with brand-new bark, you know, cypress bark. Helvenston v. Blackwater Security Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2 Were talking to Katy Helvenston, Scotts mother; Jeremy Scahill, whos breaking the story today in The Nation magazine; and Marc Miles, the attorney for the families of the four Blackwater employees. You can read our Privacy Policy here. And I just got on the internet, and I tracked them down, and I said, I have an attorney, and what happened was not right, and I want to pursue this. And I said, Do you want come on board with me? And they said, Hell, yeah, because they had been trying to do the same thing. Yes. That was an experience, and the way that show was produced, there was a lot of editing, and it really didnt happen the way it was produced. When they took that word armored out, Blackwater was able to save $1.5 million in not buying armored vehicles, which they could then put in their pocket, says attorney Miles. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I was going to ask him. It will be precise, and it will be overwhelming. Within days of the ambush, US forces laid siege to Falluja, beginning what would be one of the most brutal and sustained US operations of the occupation. And I think there were ten in all. AMY GOODMAN: But you did meet at the memorial service. And finally, about midnight, I just started I started when Scotty was born, and I went through his entire life to some other unknown person on the other end at Blackwater, because I knew he was gone, and at 3:00 in the morning they finally said, Hes gone.. They had guards on each one of the families. He said, you know, I have to have my gun. And they took that away from him. I had my bedroom phone ringer turned offI didnt get the call, so he left me a message. KATY HELVENSTON: Well, Jay Price, who writes for the News & Observer out of the Raleigh-Durham area, had come down and talked to me, and he wrote a series of articles. But today, Blackwater is facing a potentially devastating battlethis time not in Iraq but in court. 2004 Fallujah Ambush - Ron Paul Forums Well, that left Scott no choice. He was exceptional. And we welcome you all to Democracy Now! If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution. But when these four men ended up in Fallujah that day, they were in Pajero jeeps that were not armored at all. More than 428 private contractors have been killed to date in Iraq, and US taxpayers are footing almost the entire compensation bill to their families. But then, the other component to this is that the lawsuit alleges that this Blackwater manager, Justin McQuown, because of his personal animosity toward Scott Helvenston the lawsuit and Katy characterize it as Justin McQuown resented Scott. On April 17, President Bush spoke at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. ease arkansas phone number Why cant I have it tomorrow? And I said, Are you going to rewrite it for my eyes only? I mean and I never did get that report. Katy Helvenstons son Scott Helvenston is one of the four men who died, the security contractors working for Blackwater on March 31, 2004 in Fallujah. Before Helvenston, Teague, Zovko and Batalona were ever sent into Falluja, the omission of the word armored was brought to the attention of Blackwater management by John Potter, according to the families lawyers. Previously, Justin was a Research Engineer at L una Innovations and also held positions at AeroVironment, Stryten Manufacturing, GE Healthcare, TopRank Marketing, Emerson, General Electric. Indeed, the real scandal here isnt that these men were sent into Falluja with only a four-person detail when there should have been six or that they didnt have a powerful enough machine gun to kill their attackers. JUAN GONZALEZ: Marc Miles, I would like to ask you, obviously there have been about 425, now, Americans who have been working for contractors who have been killed in Iraq. JUAN GONZALEZ: Now, even in the training period at Blackwater, he began to find problems in terms of the quality of the training that was going on? KATY HELVENSTON: I think thats total garbage. You said they had no map? A new firefighter goes through the academy, is shown all these big hook-and-ladder trucks and pumpers and engines, all this equipment, and then is told to run into a burning building where a family is inside, but is given nothing other than a squirt gun. They were told that they were able to do a risk assessment of every trip, and if the threat was too dangerous, that they could decline the mission. By signing up to receive emails, you agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation's journalism. Helvenston v. Blackwater Security - Wikipedia This would have resulted in Blackwater losing profits and would also have delayed the start of the ESS job. He was told at that time that he was not going to be doing security for the ambassador, Paul Bremer, and he was going to escort a convoy of trucks to pick up kitchen equipment. I did get a call a few days later, and they all of a sudden were going to have this grand memorial. Would he speak to them? Unbeknownst to Helvenston, this goal would drive a series of events that would ultimately lead to his death. AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to go for a minute we only have a few minutes to a comment of President Bush about private military contractors operating in Iraq. Was this months later, weeks later? And so, what happened that particular day from the evidence that Ive accumulated is that they were basically told to escort three flatbed trucks, which I understand were going to pick up some kitchen equipment, far different from what Scott Helvenston had understood, that he would be guarding an ambassador. rocky mountain prep fletcher staff navy seal scott helvenston death video We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. Helvenston v. Blackwater Security explained New Yorks Working Families Party Came Back From the Brink. And I do want to say we invited Blackwater on the program today.

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