By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A former Secret Service agent received an additional two years in prison for stealing bitcoins during an investigation into drug marketplace Silk Road.

Shaun Bridges, 35, was sentenced in 2015 to nearly six years in prison stealing more than $800,000 worth of bitcoins during the Silk Road probe.

Bridges pleaded guilty in August to money laundering in another criminal case involving the theft of more than $350,000 with of bitcoin that today is worth more than $800,000. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco sentenced Bridges to another two years in prison, the Justice Department announced. 

The investigation shut down Silk Road in October 2013, and authorities said the site generated more than $214 million in sales of drugs and other illicit goods and services, relying on bitcoins for payment.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

An internal investigation is underway after an FBI counterterrorism supervisor was allegedly so drunk after a night of heavy drinking that a woman stole his gun at a Westin hotel in Charlotte, N.C.

Robert Manson, a unit chief in the FBI’s international terrorism section, and other agents were in Charlotte for training and ended up drinking with women who described themselves as exotic dancers, the New York Times reports.

A woman who went back to Manson’s hotel room stole his Glock .40-caliber handgun, a $6,000 Rolex watch and $60 in cash.

“Investigators determined that the victim, Robert Manson, met a woman in the hotel bar the prior night and took her back to his hotel room,” Robert Tufano, a spokesman for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, said in a statement.

Another agent filed a police report at 6:30 a.m. the next morning because Manson was allegedly incapacitated because of alcohol. The items were reportedly stolen between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.

Special counsel Robert Mueller

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A conservative group of Republicans called for Robert Mueller to resign, saying the special counsel’s investigation amounts to an attempted overthrow of the government.

“We are at risk of a coup d’etat in this country if we allow an unaccountable person, with no oversight, to undermine the duly-elected President of the United States,” said Florida Congressman Rep. Matt Gaetz from the chamber floor, Newsweek reports. 

Gaetz and other members of the House Freedom Caucus proposed a non-binding motion last week to demand Mueller resign or be fired because of “obvious conflicts of interest.” They allege Mueller has a conflict because he was the FBI director when the Obama administration approved a deal allowing a Russian company to buy a Canadian energy company with uranium operations in 2010.

“We’ve got to clean this town up, and it will start with the resignation of Mr. Mueller and a proper investigation of all of this underlying case involving Comey, Lynch, the Clintons, and Russia,” Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert said Wednesday.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Undercover tests revealed that TSA failed to detect test weapons about 80% of the time, uncovering a slew of “vulnerabilities” at security checkpoints at multiple airports nationwide.

The results were shared with the House Committee on Homeland Security, which called the failures “disturbing,” ABC News reports. 

“This agency that you run is broken badly and it needs your attention,”Rep. Mike Rogers told TSA Administrator David Pekoske.

Inspectors “identified vulnerabilities with TSA’s screener performance, screening equipment, and associated procedures,” according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.

The TSA is working on implementing eight recommendations to improve safety and effectiveness.

In a statement, the TSA said the agency “concurs with the DHS OIG findings and is committed to aggressively implementing the recommendations.”

“We take the OIG’s findings very seriously and are implementing measures that will improve screening effectiveness at checkpoints,” said Pekoske. “We are focused on staying ahead of a dynamic threat to aviation with continued investment in the workforce, enhanced procedures and new technologies,” he added.

Other Stories of Interest

• FBI Blindly Hacked Computers in Russia, China, Iran
• JFK Files: FBI Concerned about Growing Latino Political Power
• Public Sex on a Plane Will Get You Investigated by the FBI
• Kelly’s Ex-Deputy Readies for Homeland Security Confirmation Hearing
• Secret Service Agent Sentenced to 2 More Years for Bitcoin Theft