www.middleburyfire.org

FBI agents raided the volunteer Middlebury Fire House on Thursday morning, seizing computers and financial records from the firehouse in Connecticut, WFSB reports.

The search took about three and a half hours, according to Fire Chief Paul Perrotti, who said the department hires an independent auditor to review the books.

“This has always been a well-run department and these are allegations, and I think there not going anywhere. We still are solvent. We do our job and there’s no malfeasance here,” Perrotti said.

Perrotti said fire service won’t be disrupted.

Steve Neavling

Calling it one of the most bizarre cases he’s ever handled, U.S. District Judge Frank Geraci Jr. sentenced the New York man to a year in jail for lying to the FBI.

The Elmira Star-Gazette reports that Brandon Todd lied and claimed he was a trafficker who had compelled women to join the sex trade.

Since the 20-year-old served most of his year awaiting sentencing, he soon will return to his home in Prattsburgh, which he shares with his grandparents.

The case started when a woman falsely accused Todd of forcing her into the sex slave, a lie that Todd decided to perpetuated.

“This is one of the more bizarre cases that I’ve ever really presided over, and I’ve presided over a lot of cases,” Geraci told Todd.

“You created a lot of havoc, not only for law enforcement but also for the victim in this case,” Geraci said. “… This did unleash a widespread investigation.”

Steve Neavling

In yet another sign that the Obama administration is planning to revise its immigration-enforcement priorities, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said a controversial deportation program needs a “fresh start,” the Washington Post reports.

Johnson said the program, Secure Communities, needs some revision but should not be scrapped.

The program, which started during President George W. Bush’s tenure, seeks to identify undocumented immigrants by teaming up local law enforcement with federal authorities.

The program has come under fire by immigrant advocates who say undocumented immigrants with minor no prior criminal record were being arrested.

The lead FBI agent on the sweeping corruptions case involving the Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies testified Thursday that it was important to document inmate abuse by smuggling a cell phone to a prisoner with a history of violence and lying.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the defendant Deputy James Sexton is accused of conspiracy and obstruction of justice for trying to hide inmate Anthony Brown from FBI handlers.

Sexton’s attorney grilled Agent Leah Marx about the wisdom of giving a contraband cellphone to an image with a checkered past.

“Did it concern you, Agent Marx, at that point that Mr. Brown … had been convicted of 15 felonies and sentenced to more than 400 years?” O’Brien asked.

Marx responded that criminal histories among informants is always a concern but in this case it was important to work with the inmate because of the seriousness of the corruption and abuse allegations against deputies in the L.A. County jails.

OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST

• FBI Investigates Drunken Flier Accused of Groping 3 on Flight
• FBI Wants to Procure Malware for Research Purposes
• Senators Calls for FBI Investigation into VA Hospitals Scandal
• Trial Scheduled for DEA Informant Accused of Murder
• ATF Captures Gang Members, Alleged Gun Buyers in Twin Cities

Michele Leonhart

For months Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Michele Leonhart has openly rebuked the drug policy reform policies of Attorney General Eric Holder and President Obama with one embarrassing statement after another. Now she is picking a fight with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Y) and other members of Congress over hemp. Meanwhile the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General has launched an investigation into multiple scandals plaguing the agency. It is clear that Leonhart lacks the ability to lead and should resign. Activists are using the Twitter hashtag #FireLeonhart.

The DEA created a political firestorm this week when it seized seeds bound for a Kentucky hemp research program that was approved by Congress. Even Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has weighed in, telling Politico last night, “It is an outrage that DEA is using finite taxpayer dollars to impound legal industrial hemp seeds.” The Kentucky Agriculture Department is suing the agency. The seizure is the latest misstep by the agency, which is being investigated by the Department of Justice for numerous scandals.

Earlier this month the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector Generallaunched investigations into numerous DEA scandals, including the massacre of civilians in Honduras, the use of NSA data to both spy on virtually all Americans and to systematically fabricate evidence, controversial uses of confidential informants, airline passenger searches, and sexual misconduct. DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart herself has been at the center of several scandals, including the House of Death scandal in which the DEA may have turned a blind eye to torture and murder, and the Andrew Chambers scandal, in which the DEA rehired a confidential informant with a history of lying.

Moreover, Leonhart is increasingly publicly opposing drug policy reforms being pursued by her bosses, Attorney General Eric Holder and President Obama, and both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. She publicly rebuked President Obama for admitting that marijuana is as safe as alcohol, told members of Congress that the DEA will continue to go after marijuana even in states where it is legal despite DOJ guidance stating otherwise, and has spoken out against bipartisan drug sentencing reform in Congress that the Obama Administration is supporting.

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