US marshals, lawyer criticized over escorts of Fox sportscasters

Several US marshals and a lawyer for the federal agency violated ethics regulations by assigning deputy marshals to escort Fox Sports broadcasters to and from sporting events, including two games of the 2007 World Series in Boston, according to a report released yesterday by US Inspector General Glenn A. Fine.

The 44-page report concludes that Joseph Band, who resigned this month from his job as a lawyer on the "ethics team" at the US Marshals Service, misused his position at the agency while working part time as a statistician for Fox Sports.

The report says Yvonne Bonner, who was acting US marshal in Massachusetts from December 2006 until her retirement last month, and Band "committed misconduct" by using deputy marshals for personal business at the World Series.

At Band's urging, two armed, badge-carrying deputy marshals attended the two World Series games at Fenway Park on Oct. 24 and 25, 2007, between the Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies, then afterward drove through crowds with their emergency lights flashing while escorting limousines carrying Fox sportscasters Tim McCarver and Joe Buck to their hotels.

During the second game, Band brought the deputy marshals into the press box at Fenway and asked them to obtain weather conditions and help him record on-base percentage statistics, according to the report.

"The whole thing seemed weird to me," one of the deputy marshals told the inspector general's office last year, after an anonymous tip triggered an investigation in Boston that later expanded to Tampa and Phoenix.

However, the deputy marshal said he thought it was OK to accept the assignment because it had been arranged by Band and Bonner, who was chief of the agency's internal affairs division in Washington, D.C., before coming to Boston.

Bonner told investigators she thought it would be "beneficial" to have extra deputy marshals at the ballpark in case the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which was also at the park, needed help. But the report rejects Bonner's statement, noting that she never told the task force that the additional deputies were at the game.

Bonner wrote a letter to the inspector general objecting to the conclusion that she had done something wrong.

"Faced with the information I had at my disposal at the time, I would respectfully suggest that my actions were reasonable, justified and of benefit to the interests of the USMS, notwithstanding any possible misconduct or nefarious motive on the part of another employee," she wrote, referring to the US Marshals Service and to Band.

Band's lawyer said yesterday that his client declined to comment. Bonner could not be reached.

The inspector general, who investigates only federal employees, indicated that Boston police motorcycles led the motorcade that escorted McCarver and Buck to their hotels after the Oct. 25 game.

"Such an escort wouldn't be unusual under the extraordinary circumstances like the World Series," said Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department. "If there is a reason why efficiently moving them in and out of the area is in the best interest of public safety, then we'll do that in that instance."

The report says that the US attorney's offices in Boston and Virginia declined to prosecute Band. The US attorney's office in Boston would not comment.

The report has been turned over to the US Marshals Service. The agency declined to comment on whether it will take any internal action.

Band wrote to Fine's office that he "does not know if witnesses were intimidated or threatened or just suffered from a bad memory."

The report says that US marshals in Tampa and Phoenix also wrongly assigned deputy US marshals - whose job is to transport prisoners, protect judges, and track fugitives - to ferry Band and his friends to and from stadiums, airports, and hotels. The events included an NFL playoff football game in Tampa in 2007, and last February's Super Bowl and the January 2007 NCAA national championship football game, both of which were played in Phoenix.

In a few instances, the deputies drove Buck, broadcaster Troy Aikman, Band, and others in their government-issued cruisers, the report says. Some of the deputies put in for overtime for the assignments.

The report also says that the US marshal in San Francisco, Federico Rocha, should be "commended" for refusing Band's request for deputy marshals to ferry him to the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star game in that city. Instead, Rocha advised him to take a trolley or a taxi, the report says.

The US Marshals Service issued a statement yesterday saying that Band's actions "do not reflect the culture of this agency nor the high standards to which we hold our employees."

Maria Cramer of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com.