By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

As many as 10 officers with the Jersey City Police Department are under investigation by the FBI for an alleged private security scheme.

Those police officers may be charged with corruption as early as next year, sources told New York 4. 

The scheme involves off-duty officers taking security jobs from private companies, which are required to hire the help through the city and pay extra administrative fees. Investigators allege the officers demanded cash without going through the city.

One former officer, Juan Romaniello, pleaded guilty in federal court last month for participating in the scheme and taking more than $200,000 in improper payments and never paying tax on the money.

The FBI declined to comment on the investigation, but expressed the importance of fighting public corruption.

“Per official policy, the FBI cannot confirm or deny the existence or non-existence of an investigation,” FBI spokesman Michael Whitaker said. “However, combating public corruption is the FBI’s top criminal investigative priority and we encourage the public to call the FBI with any information.”

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A deadly mid-air collision between two planes in San Diego in 2015 was the fault of pilots and air traffic controllers, the National Transportation Safety Board reports.

The new report lays most of the blame on air traffic controllers, 10 News reports. 

Moments before the collision between a Sabreliner jet and a Cessna, which killed five people, an air traffic control trainee was overwhelmed while getting on-the-job training.

A controller is limited to handling seven aircraft, but on this day, the workload was nine. NTSB concluded that the controller told the pilot of the Cessna to make a 360-degree turn, which resulted in the collision.

Some of the blame also belongs to the pilots, who could have avoided the collision, the report states. The pilots should have shown more “situational awareness,” which would have enabled them to “take evasive action in time to avert the collision.”

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• FBI Captures Union State, White House Bomb Threat Suspect
• Scary Truth about TSA’s Recheck Security Vulnerabilities

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The number of people caught trying to slip across the border from Mexico to California has declined a whopping 93% since 1996.

The Sacramento Bee reports that Border apprehensions in the area dropped from roughly 550,000 in 1996 to 39,000 in 2015, citing data from Homeland Security. 

Illegal immigration has plummeted everywhere along the Mexican border, largely because of increased enforcement.

According to the Pew Research Center, more Mexicans are leaving the U.S. than flocking here.

Tim Bossert

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

President-elect Donald Trump’s top contender for homeland security and counterterrorism adviser is Tom Bossert, a former top George W. Bush aide, two senior transition officials told Politico. 

Trump met with Bossert at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Thursday. He was joined by national security advisor Michael Flynn, incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus, and chief strategist Steve Bannon.

If appointed, he would replace Lisa Monaco, who holds the position under President Obama.

Bossert currently is a fellow at the Atlantic Council. 

Under Bush, Bossert served as deputy homeland security adviser.