[Peace-discuss] Dempsey Resigns

[Roger Epperson]

TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE
U. of I. administrator out
Police institute director also worked for paramilitary
outfit
By Jodi S. Cohen and E.A. Torriero | Tribune staff
reporters 
September 7, 2007 
University of Illinois officials cut ties Thursday
with Tom Dempsey, the beleaguered director of the
school's police training institute who has been under
scrutiny for his work with a controversial military
contractor.

Dempsey's resignation comes after the Tribune first
reported in July about possible conflicts of interest
involving Dempsey and Blackwater USA, a security firm
that provides private paramilitary forces for
America's war on terror and has become a lightning rod
for anti-war passions.

In July and August, Dempsey was in Afghanistan using
his accrued paid-vacation time from U. of I. to work
as an independent Blackwater consultant, training
Afghan anti-narcotics police in investigative
techniques. 
Dempsey worked out his personal deal with Blackwater
at the same time he signed a partnership agreement
that linked U. of I. and Blackwater. Under that
agreement, signed in May, Blackwater and the U. of I.
training facility agreed to exchange staff and
students, share facilities and collaborate on
training.

U. of I. Chancellor Richard Herman last month ended
the partnership. No money had been exchanged, although
the company stood to gain prestige by partnering with
the highly regarded institute in Urbana-Champaign.
Dempsey has claimed that the institute, which trains
state police troopers, would benefit from Blackwater's
expertise in international law enforcement.

Dempsey, 58, returned from Afghanistan last month and
agreed to resign "in light of the controversy
surrounding his affiliation with Blackwater," U. of I.
spokeswoman Robin Kaler said. While the resignation
agreement was made final Thursday, Dempsey's
resignation was effective Aug. 31.

Dempsey, who had been director of the institute since
2002, was paid $118,178 a year.

Under the agreement, U. of I. will pay Dempsey $75,000
in severance and $12,000 to cover health insurance
costs for a year, according to a copy obtained under
the Freedom of Information Act. He also will be paid
for all accrued and unused vacation days.

Dempsey did not return a call from the Tribune on
Thursday. The resignation agreement states that the
university and Dempsey will not make any additional
statements regarding the matter.

University officials said previously that Dempsey was
not upfront about his personal consulting arrangement.
The Blackwater partnership agreement was executed
through one branch of the university system while
Dempsey's vacation request and conflict-of-interest
disclosure forms were put in through another.

"The facts are that you were negotiating both the
[Blackwater partnership] and future employment with
Blackwater at the same time and no one above you was
informed of both of these relationships," Peg Rawles,
an associate chancellor, said in an August e-mail to
Dempsey, a printout of which was obtained by the
Tribune. "The chronology raises more questions than
answers."

The separation agreement, however, states that Dempsey
"adhered by [university] policy regarding
non-university employment and use of vacation time."

Kaler said Thursday that university officials are
reviewing ways to tighten approval procedures to avoid
possible conflicts of interest, and they are
discussing whether the same university department that
reviews partnership agreements should also review
employee requests about non-university employment.

"That is the type of thing that certainly will be
considered," Kaler said. "We are reviewing all
existing [agreements], and we are reviewing our
process for approving them."

Printouts of other e-mails obtained by the Tribune
show that Dempsey asked institute employees not to
talk about his work for Blackwater and to cover up for
him in his absence.

In an e-mail sent to the Tribune last month, Dempsey
said he went through proper channels to obtain
permission for each venture and did not try to deceive
anybody. He said he did not see a conflict between his
work in Afghanistan and his role in executing the
university partnership with Blackwater. He also said
his work for Blackwater was for a greater good.

"This opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to
play a small role in efforts to assist the Afghan
police in addressing the opium problem that plagues
their nation," he wrote. "I hope to return from
Afghanistan soon to my position as director of one of
the largest and finest police training facilities in
the United States. A position I am honored to fill."




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