Just starting to read "The Case of ..."

A friend sent me a book to read titled The Case of the Indian Trader.

The book was published in 2011 and is by a retired National Parks Service (NPS) investigator, Paul D. Berkowitz. The Indian trader, Billy Malone, operated the Hubbell Trading Post on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona.

In 2004 the NPS began an investigation of Malone, and in 2005 Berkowitz took over the case. From the back cover of the book comes this: "His investigation uncovered serious problems with the original allegations, raising questions about the integrity of his supervisors and colleagues as well as high-level NPS managers." He blew the whistle on the NPS and went directly to the Office of the Inspector General, skipping the NPS chain-of-command.

In a review of this book, the High Country News had this to say: "This case is a glaring example of what can happen when sloppy investigators, a cult-like federal agency and powerful people combine forces against a humble man."

The National Parks Traveler said, "Mr. Berkowitz peels back the luminous outer skin of the Park Service to reveal a dysfunctional culture, one that by his accounts has more than a few times placed itself above the law."

A reviewer on Amazon.com wrote: “Anybody who has ever run across government bureauocrazy (sic) needs to read this book. ” Click here to read the reviews on Amazon.com; they are worth reading!

The person who sent the book to me wrote that the description of the NPS's handling of this case "...closely parallels the MCSO. That unwillingness to back down, clannishness, and blatant dishonesty. Then, when the truth comes out, 'shoot the messenger'."

You have only to read the Foreword by Kevin Gilmartin, Ph.D., a behavioral scientist specializing in police ethics and crisis management, to know that you are about to lose a lot of sleep.

Purchase the book on Amazon.com or call University of New Mexico Press at 800.249.7737