John Perren

WASHINGTON — John G. Perren,  special agent in charge of counter-terrorism at the FBI’s Washington field office, has been named the interim head of the office, authorities said Wednesday.

Perren will replace Joseph Persichini Jr, the assistant director in charge of the office, who officially retires on Christmas day. Perren’s appointment becomes effective Dec. 26.

Perren, who joined the bureau in 1987, spent a half year in Iraq for the FBI in 2005 as the on-scene commander before returning home to headquarters to become section chief of the Weapons of Mass Destruction/Domestic Terrorism Operations Section.

In 2008, he became the special agent in charge of the counterterrorism division for the Washington Field Office.

He replaces Persichini, who retires under a cloud. The Office of Professional Responsibility has been investigating allegations that Persichini and two other high ranking agents in the office may have worked together and may have gotten help from an FBI lawyer on an open book exam on bureau procedures, which is a violation of bureau policy.

Nothing happened to Persichini, who had been planning to retire anyways from the bureau. The two other agents still face possible discipline, which may include a demotion and a transfer to another FBI office.

white house photo

Here’s one way for the neglected to get some attention during the holiday season. Threaten the life of Michelle Obama.

The Boston Globe reports that the Secret Service in Hawaii arrested Kristy Lee Roshia on Saturday after she called the agency’s Boston office to threaten the life of Michelle Obama. Roshia  is a resident of  New Bedford, Mass.

The Globe reported that she was charged with threatening to kill a member of President Obama’s family and assaulting a Secret Service agent after striking the agent while in custody.

The Globe reported, according to a Secret Service affidavit,  that Roshia “has deluged the Boston office of the Secret Service with phone calls since 2004, when she told agents that she was an assassin whose mission was to kill the president.”

A Secret Service affidavit says over the years she made angry rambling calls to the Boston office, sometimes as many as 10 a day, the Globe reported.

By Allan Lengel

Mayor Richard Daley’s ex-Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez and a co-defendant caught a big break Tuesday when a federal judge overturned their public corruption convictions and ordered a new trial because the government failed to reveal the extensive criminal record and gang ties of a key witness, the Chicago Tribune reported.

“Based on these findings, this court has lost confidence in the integrity of the verdict convicting these defendants,” U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman wrote. No new trial date was set.

The judge said the failure to disclose the information prevented the defense from properly cross examining the witness, the Tribune reported.

In March, a jury found Sanchez guilty of mail fraud for rigging city hiring to reward political workers. Co-defendant Aaron Del Valle, who worked for Sanchez, was convicted of perjury, the Tribune reported.

Government officials acknowledged the error, but had contended it wasn’t enough to warrant a new trial, the Trib reported.

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Bill Nettles/law firm photo

The labor intensive effort to fill all the U.S. Attorney spots around the country continued Tuesday with President Barack Obama nominating defense lawyer William Nettles for U.S. Attorney in South Carolina, Main Justice news website reported.

Main Justice reported that Nettles of the law firm Sanders & Nettles in Columbia, S.C., was recommended for the post in August by Democratic Reps. John Spratt and Jim Clyburn. The website said Nettles is Obama’s 35th U.S. Attorney nominee and that 24 have been confirmed.

OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST

• Balloon Boy Parents Face Sentencing in Colo. (AP)
• Roman Catholic Monsignor Called Before LA Grand Jury (AP)
• Conservative Attorney Claims Secret Service Violated His Civil Rights (TalkingPointsMemo)
• Justice Department’s Perez Vows Action on Hate Crimes (Washington Post)

Santa robber/metro nashville police photo

Ho Ho Ho?

What’s a Christmas season without some guy dressing up just like Santa and robbing a bank?

On Tuesday, a Santa with gun in tow, robbed the SunTrust Bank at 4809 Old Hickory Boulevard in Hermitage, Tenn., according to the Tennessean newspaper.

The paper reported that the guy then fled in a gray mid-sized car that had been parked in a nearby church parking lot.

Ex-Gov. Blago while in office/official photo

The brother of ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich isn’t happy –not at all.

Brother Robert Blagojevich, who faces criminal charges himself in connection with the public corruption case against his brother, is asking a Chicago federal judge to keep private 208 phone calls he claims the FBI wrongly intercepted, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times.

A court filing shows the FBI captured more than five hours of onversations between Robert Blagojevich and his wife or son, the Sun-Times reported.

His attorney Michael Ettinger told the Sun-Times those conversations shouldn’t have been recorded.

“To the extent that they did it, my client is extremely upset as is his wife,” Ettinger said, and added that there’s nothing illicit about those conversation. “It’s wrong, they violated the statute. And it’s the principle of it. They can’t break the law and get away with it,” Ettinger said.

Robert Blagojevich, who lives in Nashville, Tenn., ran his brothers campaign fund.

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