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| Thu, 09-24-2009 - 8:09am |
Feds Probe US Census Worker Hanging in Kentucky
FBI checks whether US Census worker hanging in Ky. tied to his door-to-door data collection
MANCHESTER, Ky. September 24, 2009 (AP)
When Bill Sparkman told retired trooper Gilbert Acciardo that he was going door-to-door collecting census data in rural Kentucky, the former cop drew on years of experience for a warning: "Be careful."
The 51-year-old Sparkman was found this month hanged from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.
"Even though he was with the Census Bureau, sometimes people can view someone with any government agency as 'the government.' I just was afraid that he might meet the wrong character along the way up there," said Acciardo, who directs an after-school program at an elementary school where Sparkman was a frequent substitute teacher.
The Census Bureau has suspended door-to-door interviews in rural Clay County, where the body was found, until the investigation is complete, an official said.
The law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity, did not say what type of instrument was used to write the word on the chest of Sparkman, who was supplementing his income doing Census field work. He was found Sept. 12 in a remote patch of Daniel Boone National Forest and an autopsy report is pending.
Manchester, the main hub of the southeastern Kentucky county, is an exit off the highway, with a Walmart, a few hotels, chain restaurants and a couple gas stations. The drive away from town and toward the area where Sparkman's body was found goes through sparsely populated forest with no streetlights, on winding roads that run up and down steep hills.
FBI spokesman David Beyer said the bureau is assisting state police and declined to discuss any details of the crime scene. Agents are trying to determine if foul play was involved and whether it had anything to do with Sparkman's job as Census worker, Beyer said. Attacking a federal worker during or because of his federal job is a federal crime.
Why are there so many people these days who want to see our country split apart and at war with itself? They fancy themselves some sort of modern-day patriots when in reality they are doing tremendous damage the nation as a whole.


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So was this government employee lynched?
This is the terribly disturbing description by the man who found him at the cemetery. You may or may not want to read it. He says in the article it was so bad his 20 year old dd that was with them, is sleeping on their bedroom floor. This is so sad and terrible. I feel so bad for how this man died and his surviving family. All I can think, is that he was just regular people. My mom and my partner talked about taking census jobs to earn extra income this year. This was just a guy, a teacher, an innocent man. They keep bringing up drug dealers. But I don't think drug dealers would want this kind of attention in their region. It just seems like some of the over the top, hate mongering, crap that the anti-government nutjobs have been stirring up, while they say "we're not that way" finally lead to
I agree! This crime is horrendous! The poor man was just trying to make a lttle extra money to make ends meet in a tough economy! I feel sympathy for his family.
But I don't agree that all conservatives should be lumped together and blamed for this!
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