By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with stealing an FBI-issued SUV after an agent left the vehicle running at a gas station in Chicago early Monday.

When the white 2014 Chevrolet Equinox was stolen from a gas station on the Near West Side at 1 a.m., the SUV contained several firearms and tactical gear, including a bulletproof vest.

The teen was charged as a juvenile with possession of a stolen motor vehicle, aggravated battery to a government employee and vehicular hijacking, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Later Monday, police tracked down the SUV after it received a parking ticket parked less than a half-mile away from the FBI Chicago Field Office.

A tow truck removed the SUV, and some of the stolen gear was found in another vehicle earlier in the day.

Police arrested the teen about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A Border Patrol agent out of Tucson was charged with lying to a grand jury in San Diego following a military housing voucher scheme.

Agent David Wayne Skinner testified about two Marines who were accused of fraud by claiming to be renting each other’s homes, the San Diego Union Tribune reports. 

The Marines collected a total of more than $200,000 in travel expense vouchers that were supposed to be for their lease payments.

Skinner claimed to be one of the Marine’s landlords.

“Comey is my homey” shirts have become popular after the FBI director’s firing.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

James Comey may no longer be the FBI director, but some bureau employees chose to honor him and his reputation by wearing “Comey is my homey” t-shirts to a Family Day event Friday.

Time reports the shirts were sold online after President Trump fired Comey in May, claiming he “wasn’t doing a good job” and had caused morale to sink, claims refuted by many agents. 

The shirt became popular after Jimmy Kimmel announced in May he was selling “Comey is my homey” shirts after a monologue about the termination.

At least a dozen bureau employees were wearing the shirt at the annual event for employees and their families.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The special counsel investigation into Russia’s interference with the presidential election is expected to cast light on the criminal underbelly of Moscow.

U.S. officials have long worried that organized crime in Russia posed a threat to democratic institutions.

“Those concerns, ever-present if not necessarily always top priorities, are front and center once more,” Time reports. 

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who is heading the special investigation, has a powerful legal team that includes lawyers with experience fighting organized crime. Russian intelligence services have been accused of working with criminal operatives to undermine business competition for years.

As the team of investigators explores election meddling, it’s likely the focus will include the devastating cyberattacks of Democratic email accounts.

“It’s not an easy thing to kind of grasp or understand, but it’s very dangerous to our country because they have so many different aspects, unlike a traditional cartel,” said Robert Anderson, a retired FBI executive assistant director who worked counterintelligence cases and oversaw the criminal and cyber branch.

“You have to know where to look, which makes it more complicated,” he added. “And you have to understand what you’re looking for.”

Anne Reed Allen

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The estranged wife of an FBI agent has been charged with murdering her husband after his body was found in the front yard of his home in Maryland.

Anne Reed Allen, 62, faces up to life in prison if convicted in connection with the death of her estranged husband, Scott Alan Horn, a 62-year-old retired special agent, the New York Daily News reports. 

She has been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and the use of a handgun in a crime of violence.

The husband was found with major trauma to his upper body outside of his Laurel home on March 16.

Allen’s attorney, Andrew Jezic, says his client is innocent and was working on her marriage when her husband was killed.

“They had filed for divorce and then got back together, and they withdrew their divorce filing,” he told WTOP. “Then they both refiled for divorce and then they got back together. So this was a marriage that had troubles but was a marriage that underway in trying to be repaired.”