Update: SIGIR’s Wiccan Scandal
Government official (and alleged Wiccan) Ginger Cruz is in the news again. A deputy of Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), Cruz had been accused of sexually harassing co-workers, cooking the books, and threatening hexes on those who crossed her.
Ginger Cruz
“Current and former SIGIR employees have told investigators that Cruz threatened to put hexes on employees and made inappropriate sexual remarks in the presence of staff members. Cruz is a self-described wiccan, a member of a polytheistic religion of modern witchcraft…”
While a grand jury investigation into these claims did not produce any indictments, a new grand jury investigation is underway to see if Cruz and Bowen improperly read staff e-mails.
“In 2007, after the Army ruling [against e-mail monitoring], Bowen and Cruz continued to monitor staff e-mails, according to SIGIR employees at the time. At one point, Cruz held a stack of papers in her hand and claimed they were e-mails of a senior employee, one official said. Staff members also said that Cruz bragged to senior staffers in early 2006 about reading workers’ e-mails and in one case shared e-mails from one employee.”
According to Bowen’s attorney, Bradford A. Berenson, the reading of staff e-mails was a part of established SIGIR policy that staff had been made aware of.
“…as part of an authorized internal investigation into possible press leaks. SIGIR policy permits such e-mail reviews and all employees are notified, regularly reminded and trained on these policies.”
Ginger Cruz maintains she is the victim of a smear campaign by former employees, and that she isn’t a Witch.
“A previous article in the Post quoted unnamed sources and employees who claimed Cruz was a “witch”, allegations that she vehemently denies, calling the allegations “ludicrous”.”
So, is Cruz an innocent victim caught up in a vendetta by former employees? Did she ever truly consider herself a Wiccan, or is she now disavowing the faith under political and social pressures? It seems odd that people would invent Wiccan allegiance for Cruz, did they think it would strengthen claims of sexual harassment? It should be noted that her disavowal of Witchcraft is recent, and appeared in a local Guam (her native land) television station web site.
Whatever the eventual outcome of this latest grand jury hearing, it is comforting to know that no indictment was handed down relating to claims of “hexing” or “witchcraft”. Perhaps we can avoid the slippery slope to “spectral evidence” for awhile longer. As for Cruz, whether Wiccan or not, it is clear that the press jumped at the chance to sensationalize claims of magical malfeasance, almost to the point of overshadowing the more serious claims of fraud. If this was a smear campaign, it looks like cries of “witch” worked just fine. Perhaps next time claims of “witchcraft” will be met with a bit more skepticism by reporters.
Comments
