Roger Chiang

Roger J. Chiang (江俊立; pinyin: Jiāng Jùnlì) (born October 22, 1972 in Palos Heights, Illinois) is an author, television producer, motivational speaker and the subject of a movie currently in development.

Chiang is the author of "The Brotherhood Trilogy," of which, two books will soon be published. The first book is entitled, "My Peace I Offer You: The Disappearance of Joyce Chiang," which was completed in 2004. The sequel to "My Peace" is "Travails To Truth: My Peace From Prison." The books' websites are www.MyPeaceIOfferYou.com and www.TravailsToTruth.com, which will be launched in September 2008. In 2007, a Hollywood screenwriter learned about Chiang's story and a screenplay has been developed based on his memoirs.

Currently, Chiang is a production coordinator for the television show, "America's Most Wanted." Chiang currently helps produce segments for the show and writes articles for the show's website, AMW.com. To date, Chiang's work has led to the direct capture of six fugitives who have been profiled on the show.

Public Service Career

Chiang was a rising star in the National Democratic Party, however, it was his tireless efforts while searching for his missing sister that brought him notoriety.

Chiang began his career in public service in 1994 as an intern and aide to former California Congressman Anthony C. Beilensen. After a short stint on Capitol Hill, Chiang worked for the University of California Office of Federal Government Relations.

From 1996-2000, Chiang was a top political operative in the Clinton Administration. In 1996, Chiang was tapped to be the Deputy Director of Presidential Advance for the Clinton/Gore '96 campaign. In 1997, Chiang was appointed by President Bill Clinton to be a confidential assistant to Secretary Andrew Cuomo at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. At HUD, Chiang rose through the ranks and served as Director of Scheduling and Advance and later as an Advisor to the Secretary. At the time, Chiang was one of the highest-ranking Asian-Americans to serve in the Clinton Administration and was HUD's representative to the White House Commission on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders.

In 2000, Chiang left HUD to be a scheduler for Vice President Al Gore at the Gore-Lieberman 2000 campaign. Following the election defeat, Chiang worked as a research assistant at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Then in June 2001, Chiang was named as Director of Asian Pacific Islander American Outreach for the Democratic National Committee. In 2002, Chiang was named one of the "Top 30, Under 30 Most Influential Asian Pacific Americans" by PoliticalCircus.com.

In 2003, Chiang was named as Director of Constituency Outreach for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Rise To Prominence

In 1999, Chiang came to notoriety as the younger brother who tirelessly led search efforts when his 28-year-old sister, Joyce, an Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) attorney, vanished on January 9, from the Washington, D.C. neighborhood where they lived. The FBI ran lead in the investigation and two weeks after she disappeared, agents were led to a crime scene at the Anacostia Park, along the Anacostia River, where they discovered several of Joyce's personal possessions and clothing. Joyce's disappearance was a high-profile missing persons case, covered widely by the Washington, D.C. media and Roger was the family spokesperson, appearing almost nightly on local news. Three months after Joyce disappeared, her badly decomposed body was discovered along the shore of the Potomac River.

Later, in 2001, Joyce's murder was linked to the disappearance of Washington intern Chandra Levy. Again, Chiang played a prominent role, this time leading search efforts in Washington, D.C. for the missing intern who disappeared from the same block as Joyce. As part of the media firestorm that summer, the media began to inquire whether a serial killer was responsible for the disappearances and murders of Levy, Chiang and a third woman, Christine Mirzayan. In order to dismiss the serial killer theory, Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police brass blasphemously professed on national television that Joyce committed suicide, however, Chiang and many notables, including "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh, publicly discredited the police. As part of the media circus, the Metropolitan Police Chief privately apologized to Chiang for the blasphemous comments, however, the top deputy chief continued to make the false assertions to the media. (Follow news coverage of Joyce Chiang's disappearance on youtube [http://www.youtube.com/user/abesos] ).

Chiang appeared on dozens of television and radio programs speaking about Joyce’s disappearance, including the Today Show (NBC), America’s Most Wanted (FOX), The Montel Williams Show (syndicated), Unsolved Mysteries (Lifetime), Wolf Blitzer Reports (CNN), The O’Reilly Factor (FOX), The Paula Zahn Show (FOX), Rivera Live (MSNBC), Extra! (syndicated), The Catherine Crier Show (Court TV), Haunting Evidence (Court TV), Fox Morning News, MSNBC and other national and local television and radio shows. In 2006, Joyce’s murder was featured in a two hour documentary on E! True Hollywood Stories Investigates! Many newspapers, wire services and magazines have interviewed Roger Chiang and covered Joyce’s story, including, The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, the Associated Press, United Press International, Time and Newsweek magazines.

In 2001, Chiang was invited to testify before the Washington, D.C. City Council to discuss the Metropolitan Police's serious mishandling of homicides. Chiang criticized top police officials and the City Council apologized to the Chiang family for the police's miscoduct. Chiang's testimony led to policy changes at the MPD and helped change District law which commanded that police immediately begin investigating reported missing persons rather than wait the 24-hour period once required. Shortly thereafter, one of the top cops resigned from the police force, but was later hired as police chief for the U.S. Capitol Police.

In a series of articles in the "Washington Post" in 2008, a former Washington, D.C. police homicide commander, who once publicly advocated on national television that Joyce had committed suicide, backtracked from his earlier statements. Now retired and a private citizen, the former commander distanced himself from the police brass who commanded that the police tow the line that Joyce had committed suicide.

Retaliation, Accusations of Embezzlement and Conviction

In September 2004, Chiang was investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C. for the suspected theft of over $360,000 in checks from the DSCC. Chiang was accused of apparently establishing a separate bank account, under the name DSCAMPO, into which he deposited checks that were written to the order of the DSCC. Hiding under the guise of "confidential law enforcement sources," cops deliberately leaked the embezzlement story to the "Washington Post" and "Washington Times" (the same tactic used to implicate other innocent victims including Wen Ho Lee (Los Alamos scientist) and Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame (CIA leak case)) to implicate Chiang while he was on his honeymoon (see linked articles below).

Not only did cops leak the story to the media, Chiang recalls in his memoirs how cops also entered his apartment without a search warrant and harassed and intimidated him at his church. In the end, facing up to 20 years in prison, Chiang minimized his exposure and accepted a plea deal. At his arraignment in federal court on February 12, 2005, Chiang plead guilty to one count of mail fraud. After the arraignment, U.S. Capitol Police attempted to take Chiang into custody, although the judge released him on his own recognizance. Cops, under the direct order of the police chief, attempted to frog-march Chiang before the media who were waiting outside the courthouse. Chiang's attorney's balked at the police and U.S. Capitol Police detectives blocked the exits of the courthouse so to force Chiang to depart before a hoard of waiting media.

On June 2, 2005, Chiang was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison. Punishment also called for a $5,000 fine and restitution totally approx. $32,000, 240 hours of community service, and two years of supervised release following incarceration.

On July 21, 2005, Chiang surrendered to prison.

First Amendment Rights Violated and Prison Whistle-Blower

While incarcerated at the Federal Prison Camp in Cumberland, Maryland, "E! True Hollywood Stories Investigates" attempted to interview Chiang for a two-hour documentary about the murders of Chandra Levy, Joyce Chiang and Christine Mirzayan. However, prison officials used coercion and threats to deny Chiang the interview, while at the same time, allowing a fellow inmate, Jeffrey MacDonald to be interviewed by CBS. Prison officials stated that they were afraid Chiang would "criticize the [police] chief and FBI" if he were allowed to do the interview.

Later, Chiang became a whistle-blower, exposing corruption in the prison's Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP). Prison staff retaliated against Chiang by sending him to solitary confinement for 28 days, however, numerous notables and elected officials rallied behind Chiang and called for an investigation into the prison's misconduct.

Chiang was released from prison on August 2, 2006. Chiang spent six months at a halfway house in Dallas, Texas before returning to private life. In 2007, Chiang filed a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Prisons for violating his Constitutional and Civil Rights. In August 2008, a federal judge terminated Chiang's probation.

Review of "My Peace I Offer You: The Disappearance of Joyce Chiang"

New author Roger J. Chiang is a fresh voice in this new generation of writers as he evangelizes God’s second Commandment of love for neighbor and revives the lost virtue of brotherhood. "My Peace I Offer You" is the maiden book in the Brotherhood Trilogy.

At the heart of "My Peace I Offer You" are the faith journeys of a devout young man, his family and a community who are witnesses of the mysterious disappearance and unsolved murder of Joyce Chiang, the only daughter of a tight-knit Taiwanese American family.

At the center of "My Peace I Offer You" is Joyce Chiang: an accomplished and selfless young government attorney who is conquering battles in human rights and civil rights. On a cold and blustery January night in 1999, Joyce vanished without a trace from the streets of her own Washington, D.C. neighborhood.

Roger retraces for readers, with a precise sense of place and detail, his final moments with his beloved sister and the grim three month search. Employing rich symbolism through the sequence of a Catholic Mass, Roger also guides the readers through his personal faith journey. For Roger, the shock of his sister’s disappearance nearly paralyzes him. As the desperate search continues and hope fades, Roger struggles with understanding his relationship with God. Yet, Roger returns to his faith to find peace after Joyce’s homecoming. For two years, life resumed. In May 2001, a semblance of the before-life revealed that another woman had disappeared from the same neighborhood as Joyce. The similarities were unforgiving. Both women had long, dark hair. They both lived in the trendy Dupont Circle neighborhood. Each worked for branches of the U.S. Department of Justice. Empathetic of the pain of missing woman’s family, Roger willingly leads the campaign to find Chandra Levy.

The sideshow of an affair with a California congressman steals the focus from finding Chandra. The media inquires if a serial killer is lurking the streets. The police discount the media’s theory by blasphemously proclaiming that Joyce committed suicide.

Betrayed by the police, Roger unleashes the truth and publicly reveals new evidence to the hungry media.

Scarred by the betrayal, Roger again turns to his faith and finds peace through forgiveness. Reflecting upon the tragedies and his family’s suffering, Roger discovers a new crusade to champion.

Join Roger on the journeys of a missing woman and the spiritual transformation of his family. This is the story about missing persons and the role of faith that the media forgets to tell. This is Roger Chiang’s story about brotherhood.

Review of "Travails To Truth: My Peace From Prison"

In the second book of the Brotherhood Trilogy, author Roger J. Chiang renews his call for society to follow God’s second Commandment of love for neighbor. "Travails To Truth: My Peace From Prison" is the sprawling follow-up to the author’s debut book "My Peace I Offer You: The Disappearance of Joyce Chiang."

"Travails To Truth" is a fast-paced and jarring, yet heartening memoir about Roger’s tenuous twelve months in a federal prison camp. Now it’s Roger’s turn to tell his side of the story. A vindictive police chief, a character from Roger’s debut book, misuses his authority and retaliates against his long-time foe who had embarrassed him on national television years earlier.

Imprisoned in the cosmos of abuse, corruption and deceit, prison officials coerce Roger to prevent him from being interviewed for a television documentary about his sister’s murder. The officials, fearing they have exposed themselves to an embarrassing lawsuit, engage in a cover-up that is replete with gaffes.

Meanwhile, Roger has enrolled in a prison drug program. Only after being subjected to mental torture does Roger realize that the program is a guise for mind control. The prison’s psychologist bullies and mocks the novice inmate during surreptitious therapy sessions, causing Roger to spin into deeper depression.

Just months shy from his release, Roger is condemned to solitary confinement for fighting. Prison officials are guilty but they vanquish the innocent. Roger boldly fights back by blowing the whistle and an unlikely ally – the warden - comes to Roger’s aid. At the heart of "Travails To Truth," is the conflict between Roger’s earthly emotions and his spiritual being. Yet, he shows that his human spirit will not be broken by adversity. Roger triumphs over evil by being steadfast in his faith and he upholds his end of a covenant with God.

Artistically woven into the plot are Roger’s narrative recollections of the most disheartening stories of inmates with whom he lived. Roger brings to the readers a portrait of modern society that is adrift and lost of values and virtues.

"Travails To Truth" is an inspiring, introspective and incendiary story about Roger’s wrongful incarceration. Roger’s story has all the critical elements for a compelling story about prison: the intrigue of escape, the mysterious prison culture that showcases the most basic displays of human nature, a character that teeters on the edge of insanity and the gang of bad prison officials. Join Roger as he sheds a sobering light on America, calls for changes in the beleaguered criminal justice system and tells an awe-inspiring story about faith and God. This is another of Roger Chiang’s compelling stories about brotherhood.

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/user/abesos]
* [http://www.MyPeaceIOfferYou.com] -- launching in Sept. 2008
* [http://www.TravailsToTruth.com] -- launching in Sept. 2008
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27672-2005Feb15.html Henri E. Cauvin, Political Fundraiser Admits Embezzling, Washington Post, February 16, 2005, B2]
* [http://www.asianweek.com/2001_07_27/news_chandra.html Sam Chu Lin, Search for Chandra Levy Reopens Wounds for Family of Joyce Chiang, AsianWeek, July 27, 2001, page 11]
* [http://washingtontimes.com/national/20041111-111159-6584r.htm Jerry Seper, FBI Investigates Theft at Democratic Office, Washington Times, November 12, 2004]
* [http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/dc/Press_Releases/2005_Archives/Jun_2005/05178.htm Press Release, Former Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Staffer Sentenced to Two Years for Theft of Campaign Funds, United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, June 2, 2005]