The Career and Life of Joseph A. Dushek

The Career and life of Joseph A. Dushek


Born in Flagstaff, Arizona and growing up in Northern Arizona established a great foundation for Joseph A. Dushek to pursue a very professional lifestyle and excel in living a life of service unto others and providing protection to fellow Christian followers.

Joe graduated from Flagstaff High School in 1960 and was elected as the Senior Class President. He was active in the National Honor Society, Astronomy Club and became a four year letterman. He participated in football, track and baseball and was a reporter for the Green and Brown school newspaper. He loved hunting and fishing with his Dad, Allen M. Dushek, a well known Northern Arizona University gridstar (ASTC), and his brother Jimmy Dushek. His Mother, Hilda Dushek, was the bookkeeper for the NAU bookstore working over 26 years in that capacity in Flagstaff and was one of the best cooks in Coconino County known for her “butterhorns.” Little brother Jim became the FHS Student Body Vice-President four years later in 1964 but passed away tragically in Tucson while attending Arizona State University a few years later in 1968.

Joe was awarded a four year scholarship for academics by the Valley Bank of Flagstaff and attended NAU where he became the first Engineering Technology school graduate. He excelled in Trigonometry and calculus under Dr. Harvey Butchart and graduated with honors, belonging to SOPHOS and Blue Key National Honoraries. Joe was the Senior class Vice-President in 1964 and often worked at the Campus Christian Fellowship with other students to paint and repair local needy church facilities through the Federated Community Church, where he was the youngest Deacon. He married his high school sweet-heart, Cynthia DeAnn Atha and they had two children, JoDee Ann and Robert Dushek. During FHS and NAU days, Joe worked as a stringer reporter for United Press International (UPI) and also operated his own Hot Drink Service of Flagstaff. They were divorced in 1992 and both are remarried now.

Two weeks after graduating from Northern Arizona University in July 1964, Joe was hired as a Geologic Field Assistant for the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Branch of Astrogeology, U.S. Department of Interior, where they trained Astronauts for NASA in geology. Joe completed requirements for a management analyst position under Eugene M. Shoemaker, Chief Scientist for USGS, and his Appolo project supervisor, Harrison “Jack” Schmitt was the first civilian Astronaut to land on the moon in the Apollo 17 Mission in December of 1972. Joe continued his service to the U. S. Government transferring to the Navajo Army Depot, Department of Defense (NAD) at Belmont, Arizona, where he worked also as a management analyst in the Army’s Materiel Command. During this three year period, Joe met and worked with, many native American Navajo co-workers and local Mormons and other Flagstaff community leaders including R.G. Barney and Pat Syler and Brother Randall.

In July of 1967, Joe applied to the U.S. Department of Justice, where he was appointed as a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by J. Edgar Hoover. He attended training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia in the old U.S. Marine Corps base and went on to serve as a Special Agent in Seattle, Washington; San Francisco and Santa Cruz, California; Cleveland, Ohio and finished his last 21 years in the Las Vegas, Nevada field office. Joe worked his entire FBI career in criminal matters investigating crimes on Indian Reservations, Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property, fugitives and bank robberies. He also graduated from the National Fire Academy in Cleveland, Ohio for the FBI with SA James C. Summerford, who jointly investigated and convicted Joseph Nadir and several associates for over a dozen arson for profit violations in Cuyahoga County. He also assisted fellow agents in investigating Organized Crime turf wars in Cleveland and some Foreign Counter Intelligence (FCI) surveillances.
He became the Senior Team Leader on the FBI Cleveland SWAT team and an expert firearms instructor for the FBI. He also attended extensive training in Anti-Sniper and Survival Tactics, helo-rappeling, crimes against children, defenseive tactics, basic homicide investigations and became a General Police Instructor and a Supervisory Special Agent in Las Vegas for the Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Section. Joe supervised the CATS Criminal Apprehension Team, VIPER stolen vehicle Nevada task force and the Bureau's Sexual Exploitation of Children task force before retiring in 2001. Joe rappelled over Hoover Dam in 1989 with the Las Vegas FBI SWAT team and completed helo-rappelling SWAT training at Stead AFB near Reno.

In 1980, Joe was suddenly transferred to Las Vegas, Nevada where he was unknown to assist in the immediate investigation and prosecution of Anthony “the ant” Spilotro. The Organized Crime squad of Las Vegas had completed the Federal trial in U.S. District Court of Spilotro and his associates, but someone left a newspaper near the jury room and a mistrial was declared causing a retrial to be necessary. Spilotro and his brother were found slain in a shallow grave in Indiana and the retrial was never completed. Dushek’s first conviction in Las Vegas was an arson of a warehouse in Boulder City, Nevada investigated with the Boulder City Police Department. The perpetrator plead guilty in Federal Court and was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas for his first Nevada conviction.

Shortly thereafter, Joe was assigned with several Las Vegas, Sacramento and San Francisco Division Special Agents to investigate a 3 million dollar extortion bombing of Harvey’s Casino at Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The extortion occurred on August 26, 1980, when three men wheeled what looked like an IBM computer covered with a tarp into Harvey’s Resort Hotel at 5:30 AM and placed the “office equipment” on the second floor of the 11 story hotel and casino at Stateline, Nevada. The “machine” was actually a homemade bomb filled with 907 pounds of explosives and several triggering devices making it nearly impossible to move or deactivate. The only way to get the information on how to move it the bombers claimed was to pay them $3 million in unmarked $100 dollar bills. Instructions were left to deliver the money by helicopter to a nearby desolate location on the California border within 24 hours. Any screw ups would result with the casino being left in “shambles.” The bombers were seen leaving the casino in an old white van. In a few days the Labor Day week-end would begin. This was no joke. The Douglas County Sheriff’s office, South Lake Tahoe Police Department and the FBI were immediately notified and began processing the crime scene at Harvey's Casino and preparing for the drop.

This began what was on of the most fascinating criminal cases Special Agent Dushek ever worked on. Before it was over, every Harvey’s casino employee and guest, were interviewed and every hotel, motel and restaurant were contacted and displayed local artist’s renderings of the three bombers. After attempting to deliver the extortion money with the approval of Harvey Gross, warnings were received from the bombers at Kyburz that one of the toggle switches on the complex device needed to be flipped to be moved and re-negotiations for the delivery would be forthcoming. The extortion drop had failed.

They never got a chance. The bomb exploded and a gapping hole tore a cave from the basement to the sixth floor. The building was still standing and no one was injured or killed. Debris was everywhere. The FBI conducted a crime scene investigation like never before. Even quarters were bent in half! The hunt was on for the three Unsub bombers.

After a very intense investigative effort by all local law enforcement and the FBI resulted in a new approach with Harvey Gross. A giant reward would be posted. This resulted in bringing forth a friend of a friend of one of the perpetrators. After identifying the suspects the FBI and local authorities arrested John Birges, Sr. and his two sons, Jimmy and John, Jr. from Clovis, California. Also charged were Willis Brown and Brown’s son in law, Terry Hall. Birges’s girlfriend, a probation officer from Fresno was also involved.

Agent Dushek and Harvey’s Executive, Eldon Campbell, made the press release for the FBI in Las Vegas, at South lake Tahoe. It was front page news for the entire Lake Tahoe communities. During the one year investigation several local crimes also were resolved in El Dorado County and Agent Dushek solved the largest bank robbery case from Las Vegas to have occurred to that time. A local tip came to the FBI that a couple were burning money in their fireplace in Tahoe City. Investigation by the Las Vegas and Sacramento FBI Special Agents resulted in the identifying and arrest of “Sonny,” a bank robber that took a taxi to and from the Las Vegas bank robbery and had committed an armed bank robbery in Santa Cruz, California. Sonny was extremely dangerous and following his arrest in deep snow, his girlfriend asked him why he had not shot it out with the FBI with his .44 magnum. He was overheard saying he never had a chance to because the Agents had blocked his getaway Blazer and jumped up on the hood taking him at gunpoint. He was convicted in USDC in Sacramento and his girlfriend also was arrested trying to hide a large portion of the money in a suitcase taken from Truckee, California to Reno, Nevada by bus. Special Agent Dushek obtained the first Federal telephonic search and arrest warrant in that areas history to complete the search of the cabin and to seize the hidden money.

Birges was later also convicted in State court for the extortion bombing in Nevada and spent his remaining days in the Nevada State Prison in Jean, Nevada, where he died while still in custody. This was the largest bomb handled by the FBI until the Oklahoma City Murrah Federal Building bombing by Tim McVey in 1995 which SA Dushek also worked on.

Dushek continued his career in Las Vegas and became the Bank Robbery Coordinator and the Top Ten Fugitive Coordinator for the Las Vegas FBI office. He also served as the liaison representative from the FBI to the United States Marshal’s Service (USMS) from 1980 to 2001 when he retired. Dushek served over 34 years with the FBI successfully and was assigned to the Las Vegas field office from 1980 till then. He retired with over 38 years credited for serving the U. S. Government counting all time working for the FBI, the USGS Center of Astrogeology and the Navajo Army Depot management division.

While attending the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Joseph met China Montyne, a widow of a very famous sculpter, painter and philosopher, The Great Montyne, who had died after a long coma from a brain anurism. They both attended the same Ward 9 in Las Vegas and married in 2000 at the LDS Ward church and they work together as volunteers at the Recommend Desk at the Las Vegas Temple at 827 Temple View Drive every Friday.

Joseph was hired as the Security Chief, of the LDS Temple in November of 2005 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and he retired from that position two years later in November of 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

One of the most noted cases SA Joseph A. Dushek worked as the original case agent was the Loomis armoured truck robbery from Circus Circus Casino that occurred on October 1, 1993. Much media and press attention was given to this Federal robbery in the well planned crime involving Heather Sonny Tallchief and Roberto Ignacio Solis-Zeyala, a very violent ex-con born in Nicaragua and living in California. Both fled the United States and Tallchief surrendered to Federal authorities in Las Vegas on September 15, 2005 and plead guilty in Federal court. None of the stolen 3 million dollars was recovered but she promised to make full restitution and serve 63 months in a Federal Penitentiary. Solis is still a Federal fugitive highly sought after and may have fled to Central America, Mexico or near Nicaragua. His story will be featured on Court TV (now known as TRU TV) in July of 2008.

Special Agent Dushek has appeared on Americas Most Wanted, Unsolved Mysteries, Inside Edition, a Network from Germany, and Dateline on television explaining the FBI's investigation into this Las Vegas armoured truck robbery. The case was also featured on Montel Williams, Oprah, and the Paula Zahn Show as well as other crime based highlighted media publications. The Loomis Fargo Company still offers a reward for the arrest and conviction of Solis as there is no statute of limitations regarding his federal felony warrants.

Joseph and China Dushek are enjoying retirement in Las Vegas, Nevada and expect to do much travelling in the United States to visit their family and friends and former associates. Joseph always carries his wanted flyer for Roberto Solis just in case he is spotted.