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. 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. We were actually told, recalls Zovkos mother, Danica, that if we wanted to see the paperwork of how my son and his co-workers were killed that wed have to sue them., Thus began the legal battle between Blackwater and the dead mens families. Theyre angrytheyre saying, Let me go over,' Blackwater spokesman Chris Bertelli told the Virginian-Pilot ten days after the killings, adding that applications to work for Blackwater had increased considerably in that time. He did some stunt work on the movie, but mostly he trained the cast of G.I. And both the boys knew that if they were going to go through college, they had to figure out a way. Can you talk about that a little bit? Justin received a Bachelor of Science degree from . Did they assume the risk? Later that night, according to Scotts mother, McQuown came up to Helvenstons hotel room. Potter didnt have any other gainful employment, because many of these men who are ex-military, their skills dont transfer easily into the civilian sector, he says, adding that after Potter was removed for blowing the whistle on the armor issue, the company abandoned him until they needed him to avoid this subpoena and this deposition and they said, We need you and we need you now. And zoom, off he goes. Blackwater subsequently attempted to have Potters deposition order dissolved, but a federal court said no. And the people he had been with in Kuwait City, all of a sudden he was no longer working in that team. For Reprints and Permissions, click here. There is not a whole lot of jobs out there for ex-Special Forces guys, and obviously he didnt realize that at the time. He said, you know, I have to have my gun. And they took that away from him. rocky mountain prep fletcher staff navy seal scott helvenston death video tn_ptype: 'article', Heres Why. Theres a lot of innocent people that have died. While this suit doesnt mention the retaliatory US attack on Falluja that followed the Blackwater killings, the case is significant because it could blow the lid off a system that allows corporations to face zero liability while reaping huge profits in Iraq and other war zones. Nation Books released his second book, Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield, in 2013. It is regrettable and inaccurate to suggest that Mr. McQuown contributed in any way to this terrible tragedy.. AMY GOODMAN: At the memorial service for your son? I wrote an email to Gary Jackson, the president of Blackwater. And, Katy, I know this is difficult for you, and its the first time youre speaking out in a live national broadcast, but I would like to step back for a minute and have you tell us about your son Scott. In a moment she will join us along with her attorney Marc Miles who is representing the families, Marc Miles. 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. And if you stop and you think about it, thats the size of some small towns here in America. Its a well-connected, Republican-controlled business that has made its fortune because of the Bush Administration. Jeremy, lets begin with you. KATY HELVENSTON: Yes, he was Demi Moores personal trainer for the G.I. AMY GOODMAN: What did he think he was going to be doing? They deleted the word armored. And Marc Miles says that in doing that, Blackwater was able to save $1.5 million. They knew what they were getting into based upon the representations by Blackwater. 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. tn_subject: ['criminal-j', 'society', 'us-wars-an', 'war-and-pe', 'war-on-ter'], Blackwater, in turn, was billing a Kuwaiti company more than $800 for Scott Helvenstons services, and then that Kuwaiti company, in turn, billed a Cypriot company called E.S.S., which was the company that provides catering services to military operations, basically the U.S. military bases. All four guards were shot and killed. Surely there are other instances like this one with wrongful conduct involved, but, of course, we havent seen one single prosecution coming out of any contractors in Iraq, and that is essentially the entire focus of the litigation here. And I said, Well, youve already written a report. Jane how to behave like Navy Seals. My family wouldnt let me read any of the articles, they were so graphic. This is not even close. And I think there were ten in all. The suit alleges that the four men should have had a chance to gather intelligence and familiarize themselves with the dangerous routes they would be traveling. After the killings, Blackwater released a statement saying the heinous mistreatment of our friends exhibits the extraordinary conditions under which we voluntarily work to bring freedom and democracy to the Iraqi people. Without a detailed map, they took the most direct route, through the center of Falluja. Helvenston arrived in Kuwait on March 18, where he was under the management of John and Kathy Potter, whom he knew from Combat Missions. Those were all misrepresentation. Blackwater held a memorial service for the men at its compound. By the end of 2004 Blackwaters president, Gary Jackson, was bragging to the press of staggering 600 percent growth. The suit alleges that Blackwater trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown resented Helvenston and deliberately reassigned Helvenston to the team that was ambushed. The commander responsible for Fallujah was Marine Colonel John Toolan. He came from a proud family of Republicans; his great-great-uncle, Elihu Root, was once US Secretary of War and the 1912 Nobel Peace Prize-winner. Theyre whores. 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. . Were talking about a groundbreaking lawsuit that has been filed against Blackwater. The suit alleges that Blackwater trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown resented Helvenston and deliberately reassigned Helvenston to the team that was ambushed. The Zovko family asked Blackwater to see the After Action Report detailing the incident. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. 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? Thats why this case is being watched so closely by other firms operating in Iraq. After the killings, Katy Helvenston joined the families of Mike Teague, Jerko Zovko and Wesley Batalona in grieving and in seeking details about the incident. (In fact, the suit contends that Blackwater fabricated critical documents and created a pre-trip risk assessment after this deadly ambush occurred.), The men entered Falluja with Helvenston and Teague in one vehicle and Zovko and Batalona in the other. Prince has never given a penny to a Democrat. If it had been up to Katy Helvenston, her son wouldnt have been in Iraq at all. The families of the four men killed at Fallujah have filed a lawsuit charging the company with wrongful death. tn_author: ['jeremy-s'], Scott Helvenston Net Worth 2023: Wiki Bio, Married, Dating, Family And so, they didnt know what they were getting into. We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. About: Scott Helvenston However, Iraq is clearly not currently capable of enforcing its laws, much less against you know, over our American military contractors. This would have resulted in Blackwater losing profits and would also have delayed the start of the ESS job. 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. MARC MILES: Because what happened here is the issue is framed in the context of: Did these folks know what they were getting into? As we expose Blackwater in this case, it will also expose the inefficient and corrupt system that exists over there.. JEREMY SCAHILL: Right. And that may work for some companies that are manufacturing staples or shoes or something along those lines, but what Blackwater doesnt understand here is that the commodity that theyre dealing with is not a paper clip or a staple, but its actually human life, and so what we want to do is we want to create a situation where these companies are held accountable. He is currently a Puffin Writing Fellow at the Nation Institute. You can read our Privacy Policy here. KATY HELVENSTON: Erik Prince told them that they would have to sue Blackwater to get that information. They had breakfast, lunch, and dinner with us. And the guard that was in charge of me, I said, You know, you really need to do something about these helicopters. You know, and he left for a minute or two, and finally the helicopters went away. In an expose in the new issue of the Nation magazine, independent journalist Jeremy Scahill tells the story of the struggle of the four families of the slain Blackwater contractors to hold those responsible for their deaths accountable. Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. And theres all sorts of Scott speaks to us posthumously through his email, and I just want to read from this. It was good money, but it was never enough, his mother remembers. The Lafayette McQuown House is significant as a typical example of a late 19th-century miner's residence in good condition. AMY GOODMAN: Moyock in North Carolina, where Blackwater is based. 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. This is a precedent-setting case, says Marc Miles, an attorney for the families. And like thousands and thousands of people in this war, their financial situation was one of the motivations that brought them to Iraq, where they could some of these guys would make $600 a paycheck in the United States, and they could make $600 a day by going to work for Blackwater or DynCorp or other companies. Potter persisted, insisting that his men be provided with armored vehicles. Regards, Chris Taylor of Blackwater.. Scotty had tried to call me in the middle of the night, Katy Helvenston remembers. 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. Famous Personal Trainer Scott Helvenston was born on June 21, 1965 in Ocala. For its part, Blackwater is represented by multiple law firms. It is one of the most infamous incidents of the war in Iraq: On March 31, 2004, four private American security contractors get lost and end up driving through the center of Falluja, a hotbed of Sunni resistance to the US occupation. But today, Blackwater is facing a potentially devastating battlethis time not in Iraq but in court. This is viewer supported news. MARC MILES: Well, its important and its groundbreaking and its precedent-setting, because were working in such a unique situation here, where we have private American companies working within a war zone. Its going to be deliberate. The thing was see, I mean, they wouldnt even give him a map. The lawsuit alleges that these men were defrauded, because Blackwater failed to provide them with the basic minimal guarantees of their contract, among them that they would be in armored vehicles, that they would have heavy weapons, something like a SAW Mach 46 machine gun that could fire up to 850 rounds per minute, and its very key. And so, in that whole pyramid scheme, what you saw was Blackwater had a subcontract with this Kuwaiti company, and the Kuwaiti company had the contract with E.S.S., so the contract with E.S.S., the company that provides the catering services, said explicitly because there is a very serious security situation in Fallujah it actually names Fallujah as one of the cities these men need to be traveling in armored vehicles. units for the Middle East. Blackwater said that they would be operating in armored vehicles. MARTIN SMITH: By the time the press arrived, a mob had set the cars on fire. And only the one person that survived the thing, and the whole team had to survive, so if someone on a team didnt make it through, then the whole team was pretty much eliminated. 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 . But because they didnt have a map, they didnt have G.P.S., and, in fact, funny story, I think they had G.P.S. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. 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. This is an excerpt from Frontlines program Private Warriors, a documentary on the role of private military contractors working in Iraq. Right now, its my understanding that U.S. law doesnt apply, because it did not happen in the U.S.; military law doesnt apply; and Iraqi law, well, there is no Iraqi law, and so, as things stand now, they literally can get away with murder. AMY GOODMAN: Were you all in the same hotel? They say Blackwater refused to redraft the contract. Beast, he was the only contestant to defeat the beast, outmaneuvering a chimpanzee in an obstacle course. Please give today. 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 . John Potter had recently teamed Blackwater up with a Kuwaiti business called Regency Hotel and Hospital Company, and together the firms won a security contract with Eurest Support Services (ESS), guarding convoys transporting kitchen equipment to the US military. Scotty chose Blackwater, because they had a two-month contract, and he could be back home. During training, McQuown would often improperly instruct the class or provide erroneous information, tactics or techniques, the suit alleges. This is life and death were talking about here, and as Marc Miles says, the commodity that Blackwater deals in is human beings. 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. The fact that these four Americans found themselves located in the high-risk, war-torn City of Fallujah without armored vehicles, automatic weapons, and fewer than the minimum number of team members was no accident, the suit alleges. AMY GOODMAN: Jeremy Scahill, thank you for being with us. Promised Iraqis Justice. And so, we have seen Blackwater really sort of embody the war profiteering in this war on terror. 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. Reading this, it would seem that Blackwater has a reasonable defense. MARC MILES: Thats correct. They told them that they would be operating in teams of no less than six, where you would have three individuals in each vehicle a driver, a navigator and a rear gunner who has a 180-degree view of the rear to protect from behind. 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. Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. Blackwater is able to operate over there in Iraq free from any oversight that would typically exist in a civilized society. 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 . These four guys were sent out without armor, without the adequate guns, without adequate personnel, and Blackwater takes it as a moment to say, 'Hey, we're famous now. Scott Helvenston - Wikipedia Okay, that may be an overbroad analogy there, but the same principle applies. Its natural to assume that the visibility of the dangers could drive up salaries for the folks who have to stand in the path of the bullets, he said. Hooyah!!. JUAN GONZALEZ: Jeremy, in your article, you talk about some of the contracts that you were able to get copies of, where actually Blackwater was subcontracting to others, but in their contract they deleted certain provisions of the protections of these men, and the men actually complained about it, the superiors complained about it. The fact that [McQuown]was being exposed infuriated him. Scotts mother believes, based on Scotts e-mails and conversations with contractors who served with her son, that McQuown feared that Scott might replace him at the company. Scott Helvenston Net Worth & Bio/Wiki 2018: Facts Which You Must To Know! We had argued about him going over there, she recalls. Helvenston et al. KATY HELVENSTON: Donna Zovko and her son Tommy. And so, did they assume the risk? Wikizero - Helvenston v. Blackwater Security tn_keyword: ['academi', 'security-c'], This is a billion-dollar industry, Jackson said in October 2004. 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. They made a killing off of New Orleans. When they finally said Blackwater, I thought, and I just looked up on the internet and got an 800-number, and I called them, and I said, My name is Katy. I said, Scotty Helvenston is my son. MARTIN SMITH: Contractually, Blackwater was to supply two SUVs with three guards per vehicle. When we cover the climate emergency, our reporting isnt sponsored by the oil, gas, coal or nuclear companies.
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