Andrew Dorogi death DOJ inquiry
Tracking # |
EOUSA-2019-001878 |
Submitted | Feb. 6, 2019 |
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Communications
From: Ben Ashford
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Any and all records relating to the Department of Justice investigation into the March 16, 2018 death of US citizen Andrew Dorogi in Mexico City, Mexico, including all reports and investigative documents gathered in both the US and Mexico, security camera footage or stills of the deceased including images captured on the Mexican City Metro network and at Mexico City National Airport, transcripts or tapes of interviews with witnesses, suspects or persons of interest, including fellow students from Amherst College, reports from autopsies and medical examinations carried out both in the US and Mexico, communications with Mexican investigating authorities and communications with Amherst College.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Ben Ashford
From: United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts
This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://www.foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=EOUSA-2019-001878&type=request)
* Tracking Number: EOUSA-2019-001878
* Requester Name: Ben Ashford
* Date Submitted: 02/25/2019
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description: DOROGI DOJ 006
From: United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts
The Executive Office for United States Attorneys has received your Freedom of Information Act request and assigned the above number to the request.
You have requested records concerning a third party (or third parties). Records pertaining to a third party generally cannot be released absent express authorization and consent of the third party, proof that the subject of your request is deceased, or a clear demonstration that the public interest in disclosure outweighs the personal privacy interest and that significant public benefit would result from the disclosure of the requested records. Since you have not furnished a release, death certificate, or public justification for release, the release of records concerning a third party would result in an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy and would be in violation of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C.§ 552a. These records are also generally exempt from disclosure pursuant to sections (b)(6) and (b)(7)(C) of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552.
We will release, if requested, any public records maintained in our files, such as court records and news clippings, without the express authorization of the third party, a death certificate, or public justification for release. If you desire to obtain public records, if public records exist in our files, please reply with a letter asking for the public documents. Please send your letter to the address above.
Should you obtain the written authorization and consent of the third party for release of the records to you, please submit a new request for the documents accompanied by the written authorization. A form is enclosed to assist you in providing us the authorization and consent of the subject of your request. Your name should appear in the section titled “Optional.” The authorization must be notarized or signed under penalty of perjury pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1001. Please send your new request to the address above.
[ ] Please note that your original letter was split into separate files (“requests”), for processing purposes, based on the nature of what of what you sought. Each file will have a separate Request Number (listed below), for which you will receive a separate response:
This is a final action on this above-numbered request. If you are not satisfied with my response to this request, you may administratively appeal by writing to the Director, Office of Information Policy (OIP), United States Department of Justice, Suite 11050, 1425 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001, or you may submit an appeal through OIP's FOIAonline portal by creating an account on the following website: https://foiaonline.regulations.gov/foia/action/public/home. Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within ninety (90) days of the date of my response to your request. If you submit your appeal by mail, both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” (https://foiaonline.regulations.gov/foia/action/public/home)
You may contact our FOIA Public Liaison at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) for any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request. The contact information for EOUSA is 175 N Street, NE, Suite 5.400, Washington, DC 20530; telephone at 202-252-6020; or facsimile 202-252-6048. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at (mailto:ogis@nara.gov) 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769.
Enclosure
Form No. 006 - 12/15
From: Ben Ashford
Dear sir or madam,
This request relates to a US national who died in disputed circumstances during a Spring Break vacation in Mexico. Andrew Dorogi, 21, was found dead on train tracks at a subway station on the outskirts of Mexico City on March, 16, 2018.
While travelling back to the US he inexplicably left the city's international airport during a one-hour layover before travelling eight miles to an obscure part of city where his body was discovered without shoes or luggage.
His death has been featured in numerous international news publications and is the source of ongoing controversy because his family maintain publicly he was murdered and dispute the claims of Mexican investigators who insist that Andrew's death was not suspicious.
Among the family's concerns is that Andrew was murdered by criminals posing as Mexican law enforcement who targeted him because he was a tourist before abducting and torturing him as part of a robbery attempt.
They reached this conclusion after commissioning an independent autopsy in the US which confirmed Andrew had been bound and beaten.
My understanding is that the Federal investigation was launched at the behest of Amherst College, the Massachusetts-based university which Andrew attended, because the college was worried about the safety of students travelling to Mexico.
I am a senior journalist working for the international news website Daily Mail and I travelled to Mexico personally to investigate this case.
In my estimation it poses serious questions about the safety of American citizens travelling through Mexico City and the disclosure of the documents listed in my request is profoundly in the public interest.
I enclose here a series of links for further background and to confirm Andrew's death.
Kind regards
Ben Ashford
Senior Reporter
Daily Mail
646 276 1017
ben.ashford@mailonline.com
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 8, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #EOUSA-2019-001878.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 8, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #EOUSA-2019-001878.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts
Good morning,
This request was Denied in Full on 3/7/2019 citing (b)(6) and (b)(7)(C) exemptions. Thank you.
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~WRD0002