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May 11, 2008, 7:36AM
Blogs, 'CIA brother' spin zest into Carnaby mystery
Friend's ex-wife calls claims about spy work hogwash
By MIKE TOLSON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
When it comes to Roland Carnaby, the truth is out there — way out there. So far out that you reach the blogosphere before finding anything that publicly connects him to his beloved Central Intelligence Agency, which he claimed to still patriotically serve when Houston police shot him down at the end of a crosstown chase on April 29.
But even that obscure, blog-world confirmation is not what it seems to be, which is pretty much what you get with Carnaby, the curious 52-year-old son of Lebanese parents who spent much of his time in bars and restaurants dropping broad hints that he was somebody, or something, else.
The "proof" of his tie to the CIA — denied repeatedly by the agency itself — comes indirectly through a Houston man, Alan Premel, who supposedly served with him and who has been linked to him on numerous Internet sites. If one believes the various posts about him, Premel is a former CIA wunderkind who won the agency's highest award for valor before a nasty separation and lawsuit that netted him a multimillion dollar settlement.
Those posts are made on obscure blogs that ceased shortly after posting articles about Premel or in the reader comment sections of better-known, ongoing blogs. A few appear in comment sections of legitimate stories posted on mainstream news media sites.
Taken together they give a whiff of credibility to the assertions of Carnaby's friends that he was the agent he claimed to be, especially considering they were made long before Carnaby was killed.
One of them, at the short-lived papparazzipress.com, refers to Carnaby as one of "CIA's most experienced, talented and high-profile clandestine officers." Another mentions Premel as a "battle hardened and battle tested CIA war hero" who was "the youngest supervisor to ever head a task force."
Shortly after Carnaby's death, Premel's personal page on MySpace.com displayed a photo of him with Carnaby — or "Tony" as he was known to most of his friends — pasted in front of a CIA seal along with the words: "We lost Tony. RIP my great brother. I will see you soon."
Plenty impressive. But is any of it true?
Premel's former wife spent years enmeshed in his claims of being a spook and his sly mentions of CIA intrigue that was too sensitive to divulge. She is familiar with many of the references to Premel and Carnaby in cyberspace, all made through anonymous bloggers or pseudonymous blog readers. She has a simple description for it all.
"A bunch of hogwash," she said.
Amy Carter was married to Premel from 2001 to 2006 and confirmed that he was indeed a friend of Carnaby, whom she recalled meeting at least a dozen times. But not for a minute did she buy into their claims of a secret life of government service. At least with respect to her husband, the entire notion was literally incredible.
A fantasy world
"He brought lying to a new level," Carter said in an interview. "He lives in a fantasy world. As long as everybody follows along with that, he's OK. But when you challenge it, he falls apart."
As for Carnaby, she claimed to know little. But she doubted much.
"I didn't like him," she said. "If for no other reason, he was perpetuating what I knew to be a lie."
At the time Carter was hopeful of saving her marriage. She said she wanted Premel to own up to the CIA fantasy and pushed counseling sessions in the hope of moving past it.
"He never once admitted to the lie," she said. "I have no idea where it originated."
Premel, 32, lives in Atascocita. He would not agree to an interview. But through messages sent in response to queries to his MySpace page, he still vouches for Carnaby's CIA work, at least up until recent months when he said they drifted apart.
"Not only is he what he says he is but he is deeply connected," Premel wrote. "There is a smear campaign out there. CIA is misunderstood as an intelligence agency. What it really is is a covert action agency. Even through death CIA will deny not only officers but professional civilian contractors."
Premel said Carnaby was in Houston because of "shipping stuff" and "port security." He added that the truth about Carnaby's life would be "one of the greatest stories ever told, (but) no one will be hearing it anytime soon."
Conspiracy blogs are not bothering to wait. Carnaby's odd death, combined with Internet references linking him to Premel and top positions at the CIA and an already ingrained suspicion of government and law enforcement, have been more than enough to keep Carnaby alive indefinitely as another piece of an ever-enlarging puzzle.
Among the more interesting claims: He was chasing a suitcase nuclear bomb that had arrived in the U.S. from Israel when he was killed; or he was murdered because he had infiltrated a local Mossad ring.
Carnaby had no shortage of friends in Houston standing up for him in the days following his death. They said he knew too many local law enforcement officials to be a fraud. And he seemed to be too devoted to spycraft and the mission behind it for it to have been a casual interest.
"I mean he lived and ate and slept it, and he could never really get his mind off it," said his brother-in-law, Rob Kouts. "Took his work with him wherever he went, family holidays or whatever. He was just obsessed with his work and his country."
Kouts said he understood why the CIA might have disavowed him, but it nonetheless pained him and his sister, Carnaby's wife Susan. That rejection made it seem as if they had no clue about what sort of person he really was.
" 'We don't know him.' Yeah, right. Then why did they give them this plaque and several like it?" Kouts said, gesturing at a tabletop crowded with CIA mementoes."We always knew that if something happened to him, nobody was going to come forward, at least not with any details. At the end of the day, I don't think they're going to deny it forever."
Not even good fakes
For the agency to say anything at all is unusual. It did not respond to queries about Premel. In Carnaby's case, however, it took the unusual step of denying any current or former association with him. Those of conspiracy bent saw a hidden significance to the quick denial. After all, they say, surely all the plaques of recognition speak louder than official statements to the press.
To Robert Baer, longtime CIA agent turned bestselling author and technical adviser for the Hollywood film Syriana, the plaques in question mean nothing. Shown photos of them via e-mail, Baer said they were fakes, and not even good ones. And for the record, he said he has never heard of Carnaby or Premel, even though the latter's name had been dropped by someone into Baer's Wikipedia biography.
To Sha'rie Burch, one of Carnaby's ex-wives, his life was a case of a fantasy running amok. She never bought his claim to a CIA connection or saw any evidence beyond his assertions. She said whenever she challenged him he would get angry and defensive.
To Carter, Premel's ex, the obsession with spy work and the accumulated props sound all too familiar. She said her ex-husband also had plaques and identification badges.
Premel did not have the money to disappear for long periods of time as Carnaby apparently did, which may explain why Carnaby's wife thought he was out of the country when he actually was in Houston hanging out with friends and reportedly carrying on a romance with another woman.
The Premel of Internet lore — created entirely by anonymous Web postings — is not unlike the vaguely romantic and exciting figure that Carnaby was to his friends. Not only was Premel a CIA hero, but he was writing a book to be titled Way of the Ghost, consulting on Hollywood scripts along with Baer and dating Paris Hilton, actress Rachel McAdams and a former Houston adult movie performer.
He was such a fascinating figure that CNN National Security Correspondent David Ensor did a lengthy interview with him. Never mind that Ensor had left the network at the time the interview supposedly took place.
The porn connection
At least there was some truth to dating a one-time porn actress. Her screen identity, borrowed without permission from an old high school friend, was Syvette Wimberley. Her actual name is Laura Madden, and she met Premel through friends. They went out a few times before she cut off the relationship, said Madden's attorney, Kent Schaffer.
He said he had to send a threatening letter to Premel to stop him from bothering her.
"He boasted about being a government agent, and he was able to disappear people and all that sort of stuff," Schaffer said. "He scared her. She believed him. I sent him a cease and desist letter, and she never heard from him again."
Where all the postings about Premel came from is a mystery. Carter figures she has a pretty good idea.
"In reality, he's a 32-year-old guy who lives at home with his parents," she said. "He has no money. He has a lot of time. The fantasy world in his head is a lot better than the world he lives in."
Premel does have one connection to the government. He has been charged in county court with misdemeanor theft. He was accused of stealing Apple iPods while a FedEx driver this year and has a court date next week.
dqueue wrote:Thanks for posting the Houston Chronicle follow-up article. Premel has removed his promise to speak publicly about the situation from his myspace page since (or shortly before) the article ran.
A Fedex thieve. Ugh.
Dear Tony AKA "RC", #???
04:49 PM CDT on Thursday, May 22, 2008
By Allison Triarsi / 11 News
HOUSTON—The family of a self-proclaimed CIA operative who was shot by HPD last month is still struggling with their loved one’s death.
They believe police might have violated policy when they shot Roland Carnaby after a high-speed chase through the city.
“I can’t imagine what their rationale may be, and I can’t wait to hear what they have to say about why they rushed to the car and escalated things,” Carnaby’s brother-in-law said.
Carnaby was shot when officers rushed to his SUV. They said the suspect was reaching for an object they thought could be a gun, so they opened fire.
An autopsy revealed that a single gunshot to Carnaby’s back is what killed him.
But the family’s attorney says if the officers had followed HPD’s new pursuit policy – a policy that went into effect just two weeks before the shooting – Carnaby would be alive today.
The policy states that police should only pursue suspects when public safety is in jeopardy, and that suspects should be pursued based on the seriousness of the crime.
In Carnaby’s case, he was originally pulled over for speeding.
Police Chief Harold Hurtt wouldn’t comment on whether those policies were followed, but he did say that Carnaby might have worked for law enforcement, after all.
“I was told that at some point he may have been an informant for the FBI,” Hurtt said.
It’s a belief also held by Carnaby’s wife and family.
“It’s real hard for (his wife), because she knew how much he loved this country and she wants him to have vindication,” Carnaby’s brother-in-law said.
Although the CIA maintains that Carnaby had no connection with the organization, Kallinen said Carnaby's past assignments for them and law enforcement agencies like the FBI will come to light during the upcoming lawsuit.
"We will prove that Mr. Carnaby worked for the security interests of the federal government and was paid for it," Kallinen said.
Hurtt said he was told by the FBI that Carnaby "may have" been an informant at one time for them but had no other details about the relationship.
On Thursday, Houston FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said the agency "cannot confirm nor deny the names of people who provide us with information."
Hurtt said he was told by the FBI that Carnaby "may have" been an informant at one time for them but had no other details about the relationship.
And he was an "FBI informant" and certaintly not working for the Company (emphasis added by the CIA) at the time of his death....
Who were these police officers who shot him?
The policy states that police should only pursue suspects when public safety is in jeopardy, and that suspects should be pursued based on the seriousness of the crime.
From a post on a netboard, written by someone that lives in Houston and saw Roland Carnaby's murder unfold on TV.
Hi-
I'm new to this forum. I found it when searching for information about Roland Carnaby today. I wanted to just mention some odd things about his death to you, but not post them in the general public just yet.
I live in the Houston area, and had the television on that day in the background. Right before 11:00 a.m., the newscaster broke in with "We've got breaking news to tell you about. We've been following this high-speed chase for an hour and a half so far, and we want to bring it to you now."
Here's my questions so far on this:
1. I had been flipping between stations KHOU, KTRK and KPRC and nobody was showing this story, but right at 11:00 a.m., all THREE stations automatically have it on. Like they were all told to do so right then.
2. All three of these stations will break in with their "Breaking News!" stories at the drop of a hat, with the most mundane of stories. Why was this not brought to our attention earlier? Why did all three stations wait an hour and a half?
3. Right as all three stations break their regular programs and go to this "breaking news" story, Roland Carnaby suddenly pulls over and the story unfolds right before our eyes, as if on cue.
4. The short 2-second part of the video that showed the supposed "high-speed" chase didn't look very high speed to me. Nor did it look like heavy traffic, that the news was saying finally forced him to pull over.
5. I don't think there was a high-speed chase, I don't think the cops were chasing him for an hour and a half. I think it's very curious that all three major TV stations in Houston apparently had copters following this guy, as well as 4 HPD choppers, (Can you imagine that? 7 choppers following this guy, for a supposed traffic enforcement violation? It was like he was O.J. Simpson or something, who actually got treated much better than this guy did, and O.J. supposedly was being followed becaused he murdered someone. This guy was being followed for what reason, really?
6. On the video tapes shown, the scene showed only one true HPD Traffic Enforcement vehicle, but plenty of other white unmarked police cars, including two pulled up next to this SUV. I didn't think unmarked cars could participate in chases, and I thought HPD had just instituted a new policy where they don't conduct high-speed chases that could endanger innocent civilians, because they have accidentally killed too many with their high speed chases before.
7. In the tape, you can clearly see two men dressed in camouflage pants, with brown or black tee shirts on that have some kind of badge hanging down. These two men are carrying assault rifles. Who are they and why are they there?
8. When the SUV is finally stopped, Officer C.A. Foster comes running up on the passenger side and starts bashing in the passenger side front window. There is no bullhorn, no siren, no one trying to talk to the guy inside the SUV, just immediate use of force.
9. Alongside Officer Foster is Officer A.J. Washington, who when the glass is finally broken, sticks his gun inside the SUV at Roland Carnaby. I think this is when Roland got shot. I think Officer Washington shot him while he was inside the car. I also saw Officer Foster & Officer Washington reaching inside the car, and not down towards the car door, but across like to the seat or possibly trying to get Roland's Blackberry.
10. Officer Washington then runs around to the driver's side door, and pulls it open. When Roland starts to step one foot out, Officer Washington grabs the door and shoves it hard back at Roland, causing him to stumble and fall. If he still had possession of his Blackberry, he may have dropped it at this point and when reaching down to retrieve it, the cops (over 7 of them on the videotape) converge and open fire.
11. I believe Roland was already dying when he emerged from his SUV.
12. One of the guys dressed in camo, who had been calmly standing off to the side, while the shooting was going on, then calmly walks over with the handcuffs, and handcuffs a lifeless body.
13. Right after Roland stumbled out of the SUV, he rolled slightly toward the back driver's side tire, and for some reason, the cops dragged his body up by the driver's side door. Then camo guy put cuffs on him.
14. After the cuffs were put on Roland, the cops get up and walk away, leaving Roland to bleed out alone on the hot freeway concrete alone. They calmly walked away, like they had just finished a meal and were leaving a restaurant.
15. I read a comment on the chron.com where people have been commenting like crazy over the last few days, most all of the comments are insane praise over the shoot, which is scary as a citizen reading that crap, but one comment thanked KHOU for having such a good video of the whole event. I went to all three TV stations websites, and KHOU was the only one showing everything very clearly. The others were shaky, grainy or obscure. The damning part of the video to me was seeing Roland stumble (I think he was already shot) out of the SUV and then fall to the ground. I don't think any of those cops there felt threatened at all. Roland looked like he was drugged, drunk or shot as he fell out of the SUV and fell. Today, when I again checked the KHOU website and re-watched the tape, part of the tape has now been obscured and the part where Roland stumbled out of the SUV has been edited out. The other TV stations have edited their's too, to be un-useful to the average viewer looking for answers.
16. One of the cops after seeing Roland laying on the ground dying, claps his hands together, like YES! We got him! Why anyone who was not threatening to them would be treated like a common criminal gunned down in broad daylight is beyond comprehension.
17. I also think the denials being given by David Adler and Steve Jett and Harold Hurtt are interesting to watch without the audio turned on. If you watch their facial expressions, you can tell just by looking at their body language and face, that not only are they lying, but that they're scared. What are they afraid of? Who are they afraid of?
18. If Roland wasn't CIA, why did the CIA immediately and simultaneously deny any knowledge of him and announce that someone will be arriving from Langley, VA. to "ASSIST" the HPD with their investigation?
19. Why is the family lawyer being retained a CIA lawyer that investigated the assasinations of both JFK & MLK? Why not Rusty Hardin or some other media hungry attorney from Houston?
20. I know someone in the restaurant business who said Roland dined at his fine dining restaurant 3-4 times a week, with very important local officials, and was very well-liked and well-respected in the Houston area. Something happened here that doesn't pass the smell test, even to a casual observer like me. If Roland was CIA in any form, and he hung around expensive restaurants, and car dealers and the Port of Houston, which just recently started accepting tankers of LPG, maybe he was doing work to protect the Port. Now that he's gone, I'm worried and watchful, but worried.
Let me know your thoughts, I respect your opinions.
Thanks!
...I think it's interesting to see Don Clark, former head of the FBI Houston office, says now that he only knew Roland as "Tony", which was apparently his CIA name. It sounds like whoever this man was, he had very dangerous information about something that somebody didn't want him to pass along. The CIA & FBI have gone into total Deny, Denounce & Discredit mode on this case.
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