---
category: Law Enforcement & Legal
summary: Wagner filed two civil rights lawsuits with the U.S.
tags:
- Person
- Lawyer
- FBI
- LawEnforcement
updated: 2026-09-22
---

[Ben Wagner](/people/ben-wagner/) was a lawyer from Jackson, [California](/places/california/). He represented [Dave Beavers](/people/dave-beavers/) and other deputies who were exposing corruption within the Mariposa Sheriff's Department. Wagner played a key role in forming [D.I.G. (Decency in Government)](/organizations/dig-decency-in-government/), an organization dedicated to exposing this corruption.[^1]

Wagner filed two civil rights lawsuits with the U.S. District Court in Fresno, which were later described as the largest civil rights lawsuits in [California](/places/california/) history. He also filed a Writ of Mandamus against [John Van de Kamp](/people/john-van-de-kamp/), the State Attorney General; [George Vinson](/people/george-vinson/), regional director of the Fresno [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/); [George Deukemejian](/people/george-deukemejian/), then Governor of [California](/places/california/); and [David F. Levi](/people/david-f-levi/), United States Attorney, for their alleged refusal to investigate corruption in Mariposa County.[^1]

Wagner was reportedly carrying a gun both inside and outside Mariposa for the first time in his life due to the nature of his work. He wrote letters to the Attorney General, the [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/), and President [Ronald Reagan](/people/ronald-reagan/) seeking help. A special agent from the Fresno [Department of Justice](/organizations/department-of-justice/), Division of Law Enforcement, informed Wagner that everything pertaining to Mariposa was being "trashed" at the Attorney General's office, and advised him to proceed with the lawsuit.[^1]

Shortly before his first scheduled court appearance on behalf of D.I.G., Wagner received an obscure response from "Chuck" at the [Reagan](/people/ronald-reagan/) [White House](/places/white-house/). The day after meeting with "Chuck," Wagner, along with [Jerry Goldberg](/people/jerry-goldberg/), reportedly disappeared, unplugging his phone and leaving his law practice and home, never to be seen again.[^1]

---

[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010. No independent record of his disappearance has been found; the California State Bar record has not been checked. He is not the Benjamin B. Wagner who was U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California from 2009 to 2016. Sole source for the passages so cited.