The Network
Hey everyone, I'm working on something for Tuesday's edition about vote-by-mail and the election, which somehow will only be a week away when that hits your inbox. For today, I've got a short note from my colleague Joseph Cox who has spent years working on a crazy story you're not going to want to miss. Then check out some mail-related links. No postcards this week—we got some, but frankly I just haven't gotten the chance to photograph and catalog them. I'll upload a few extras next week to make up for it.
Also, a PSA: if you're choosing to vote by mail, it is time to send back your ballot. Wait much longer and you run a risk of it not being delivered in time. Don't delay! But also vote in person if you can.
OK, take it away, Joseph.
On Thursday, Motherboard published an in-depth, narrative investigation into Phantom Secure, a privacy-focused phone company that started selling locally to models and other VIPs, before eventually becoming a preferred network for serious, organized crime. One of Phantom's clients was the Sinaloa Cartel, according to a text message Phantom's owner Vincent Ramos sent to an associate included in court records.
I've been working on this story off and on over the course of several years. Within the last year, I was finally able to get in touch with Ramos through—what else—the mail. For several months, I corresponded with Ramos through physical letters and, eventually email—he is currently incarcerated at USP Marion, a medium security jail in south Illinois.
Ramos explained that his time on the prison's email system was limited, though eventually that is mostly where we corresponded.
"I am thinking of what I can put out there," he wrote, talking generally about his case. "To be honest I'm at a crossroads of how much I want to put out there."
"I probably do have some questions and comments... I just have to find a way to word them. I do want to have some input in what you write as well...," he said.
The article itself isn't really about the mail, but it did shine a light on how difficult it can sometimes be to get in touch with incarcerated people, and how closely their correspondence can be surveilled. Shortly after Motherboard sent a final list of specific questions to Ramos to give him a chance to respond, including how he met members from the Sinaloa Cartel, the Bureau of Prisons cut off our communications with him.
"This message informs you that you have been blocked from communicating with the above-named federal prisoner because the Bureau has determined that such communication is detrimental to the security, good order, or discipline of the facility, or might facilitate criminal activity," a message sent by the prison read. "The prisoner with whom you were communicating is being informed of this block. You may appeal this block within 15 days of the date of this message by submitting a written request to the Warden of the prison where the prisoner is located. You should include a copy of this notice, an explanation of your appeal request, and any additional documents or information you wish to be considered."
Motherboard appealed the decision, but received no explanation from the prison as for why it stopped Ramos from replying.
David Fathi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project, said this sort of block is not something he's heard of before.
"Based on this limited information, this appears to be a disturbing attempt to interfere with communication between an incarcerated person and the news media—communication that the courts have ruled is protected by the First Amendment," he said in a statement.
"What's especially concerning is that essentially no information is provided about the reason for blocking communication. 'Detrimental to the security, good order, or discipline of the facility' doesn't actually tell you what the journalist or the prisoner has allegedly done wrong. Without that information, it's impossible to meaningfully challenge the decision," he added.
Motherboard will be exploring future avenues to get back in touch with Ramos. In the meantime, it'd mean a lot if you read my feature about Phantom Secure and Ramos's life, which includes daring escapes from Las Vegas hotels, undercover agents, and a silver-plated AK-47 emblazoned with the Louis Vuitton logo? You can find it here.
This Week In Mail
By my estimation, Godhart's Law is one of the most important rules of life. It is generally paraphrased as "Once a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." I think this rule is so important because data has become so easily generated and accessible people try to measure everything, rarely understanding the processes or incentives of those collecting or inputting the data. A good example of Godhart's Law is the fact that supervisors around the country often scan packages with false delivery information to boost USPS's delivery statistics. (This is not my first time encountering Godhart's Law in my reporting; the primary performance statistic the New York City subway uses has been the subject of rampant fraud for decades.)
Postal workers have a plan to speed up ballot delivery as Election Day gets closer, Washington Monthly reports. The plan is to manually postmark and sort the ballots within the post office and delivering them the next day rather than sending them all to a sorting facility, which thanks to the last two decades' austerity regimen, can be in a different state and hundreds of miles away.
Mail ballots are delayed in Ohio because a company contracted to print them—that just so happened to be flying a Trump flag at its headquarters until the Times asked about it—is apparently overwhelmed.
Postal workers are filing hundreds of complaints a day with OSHA about COVID-related working conditions.
Swing states have some of the most erratic mail service.
Wash hands
Wear masks
Write letters
Aaron