Washington – Emptying the trash, carrying groceries and toting golf clubs were among duties several U.S. marshals say they were assigned over the past decade while protecting two federal judges in New York – one of whom has been nominated to be the next U.S. attorney general.
The valet-like chores were outlined in an employee grievance two years ago against Michael B. Mukasey, another judge and their wives by deputy marshals assigned to the judges’ security details.
The complaint filed with the U.S. Marshals Service headquarters in Washington says deputies weren’t allowed to flush the toilet when working on the night shift – even though the U.S. Marshals Service “pays rent for the right to use this toilet.” It also accuses one of the judges and his wife of demanding to swap their airplane coach seats for first-class fare that the marshals bought with taxpayer money.
If confirmed as the nation’s 81st attorney general, Mukasey would oversee the U.S. Marshals Service.
The complaint, first obtained by The Associated Press in 2005, does not specify which judge or spouse is responsible for assigning which tasks to the deputy marshals included in their grievance.
It also does not name Mukasey or the other judge, Kevin Thomas Duffy, although they were the only jurists in the federal courthouse in New York’s southern district who had long-standing U.S. marshals security details when the complaint was filed in March 2005.
Deputy U.S. marshals, or DUSMs, “who are busy loading and unloading groceries clearly can not immediately respond to an attack,” the complaint states.
A Justice Department official said that most of the complaints outlined in the grievance were aimed at Duffy but would not specify which ones.
