Donato Cantu, 43.

By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

A U.S. Border Patrol agent has been charged with soliciting an undocumented immigrant for prostitution in Laredo.

Donato Cantu, 43, was served with a warrant Friday and is accused of soliciting the sex worker while off duty.

CBP confirmed the arrest.

“He has been with the service for over 13 years,” Border Patrol said in a statement. “As a matter of policy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection does not comment on on-going investigations. Inquiries regarding the case are best directed to the Webb County District Attorney’s Office.”

The agency added, “U.S. Customs and Border Protection holds its employees accountable and expects the entire workforce to adhere to the agency’s standards of conduct.”

The FBI and CBP Office of Professional Responsibility had been investigating the case for several months and discovered that the undocumented immigrant used social media and other websites to find clients for sex work.

By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

The FBI warned in August that the blooming marijuana industry was a “public corruption threat” because of the money and power involved.

Now the bureau is investigating whether public officials in California accepted bribes from Sacramento-area marijuana businesses who wanted favorable treatment, including licenses to open dispensaries, The Sacramento Bee reports.

Sacramento officials recently called for an investigation into the cannabis dispensary licensing process following the decision to grant eight dispensary permits to a group linked to a Ukrainian-born businessman indicted last for alleged violations of federal campaign finance laws.

In Nevada, the governor also has called for an investigation into potential corruption in the legal marijuana industry.

Details of the investigations were murky, and the FBI declined to provide divulge details.
In a podcast in August, the FBI warned about the threat of public corruption in the marijuana industry and urged listeners to call their local bureau field offices if they suspect public corruption

Nantahala National Forest via Wikipedia. Photo by Notneb82.

By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

A woman found dead in a creek in the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina last week was a forensic FBI photographer.

Kathleen Polce Miller, of Huntsville, likely drowned, but authorities have not definitely determined the cause of death, The News And Observer reports.

Miller and her husband were camping at the park on Oct. 7 when she disappeared. Police said she told her husband that she wanted to check out Santeetlah Creek. Soon after, her husband discovered her body and called 911.

Authorities are investigating the death “from a criminal standpoint, the Graham County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday.

Former FBI Director James Comey

By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

Former FBI Director James Comey isn’t sure what’s next for him. But one thing is clear: He’s going to help remove Trump from the presidency.

“I feel stuck,” Comey said in a candid, nearly two-hour interview with The New York Times at his Northern Virginia home. “Like I can’t do something else. And I couldn’t look myself in the mirror if I went and did something easy.”

It wasn’t entirely clear in the interview how Comey will lend his hand in removing Trump from office, but the 58-year-old said he’d be willing to appear at the Democratic candidate’s stump speeches or even the party’s nominating convention. The former registered Republican also donated money to former law school classmate and Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Amy Klohbuchar of Minnesota.

Comey said he has no plans to run for office, but he will be writing opining pieces for The Washington Post.

“I have a fantasy about on January 21, 2021, deleting my Twitter and moving on to something else,” Comey said. “But until then, I can’t.”

When asked about his controversial, potentially election-turning decision to reveal information about the Hillary Clinton email investigation in October 2016, Comey responded, “I wish like hell we hadn’t been involved.”

Comey believes the decision to choose transparency over concealment won’t hurt his legacy.

“I was going to say I don’t care. I’m sure I care a little,” adding, “It frustrates me in general that millions of people have a false impression of me. I wish they knew I was funnier.”

By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

The TSA was not messing around when Emily Mei tried to pass through airport security with more than a dozen bags of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in her carry-on bag.

After all, the Cheetos slogan is “dangerously cheesy.”

The 25-year-old was pulled aside at Los Angeles International Airpot so a gloved TSA agent could methodically examine each package of Cheetos.

“Will never forget the day TSA stopped me cuz they thought i was hiding shit inside my bag cuz all i had was like 20 bags of Hot Cheetos,” Emily Mei tweeted, posting a video of a TSA agent checking for chemicals with a swab test on each bag.

Will never forget the day TSA stopped me cuz they thought i was hiding shit inside my bag cuz all i had was like 20 bags of Hot Cheetos 😩 pic.twitter.com/cZ55xgEneG

— Emily Ghoul (Emily Mei) (@emilyghoul1) October 5, 2019

Mei followed up her tweet with an explanation for bringing so many Cheetos onto a plane.

“For everyone who’s asking why i had so many bags of Hot Cheetos, apparently it’s hard to get in korea so my friends always ask me to bring it for them LOL.”
After finding nothing sinister about the bags of Cheetos, Mei was allowed to board her flight with her bags of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

Photo via Border Patrol

By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

Border Patrol Agent Robert Hotten died in the line of duty on Sunday after authorities say he likely fell on rugged terrain in a remote part of the Arizona border.

His death highlights the dangers facing Border Patrol agents. Since 2003, 35 Border Patrol agents have died in the line of duty.

Cato Institute ran an analysis of the deaths to determine how agents are dying and whether their jobs are more dangerous than other law enforcement officers.

About half of the Border Patrol agents died in car accidents. Another 34% died in other kids of accidents, including drownings and from health issues. An additional 17% died from being assaulted or murdered.

Compared to other law enforcement officers, Border Patrol agents compared favorably. About one in 4,680 law enforcement officers died each year between 2003 and 2018. For Border Patrol, it’s one death for every 8,628 agents per year.

“Border Patrol agents volunteered for a job that routinely places them in danger. However, that heightened danger does not translate into a higher chance of dying in the line of duty compared to other police officers,” Cato Institute concluded. “Every unnecessary death is a tragedy, but it’s important to keep them in perspective when forming public policy.”

Bordentown Township Police Chief Frank Nucera.

By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

A racist, former New Jersey police chief was found guilty Wednesday of lying to the FBI after he allegedly assaulted a handcuffed black teenager at a hotel and denied playing a role in the arrest.

The jury, however, remained deadlocked on federal civil rights and hate crime charges and were asked to continue deliberating.

Former Bordentown Township Police Chief Frank Nucera, 62, was the first law enforcement officer charged with a federal hate crime in at least a decade.

Nucera’s fellow officers secretly recorded him dozens of times using racial slurs. He said Donald Trump, who was a presidential candidate at the time, was the “last hope for white people.” He compared black people to ISIS and animals, said they should “stay the fuck out of Bordentown” because they had “no value,” and even suggested a firing squad should kill black people.

Nucera could be sentenced to up to five years when he is sentenced Feb. 6 for lying to the FBI.

The jury is still deliberating on two counts of hate-crime assault and deprivation of civil rights, The Trentonian reports.  Each of those charges carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

“We’re gonna wait and see what happens tomorrow,” defense attorney Rocco Cipparone Jr. said outside the courtroom. “Of the three counts, this is the lesser of three evils. That doesn’t mean I’m happy with it. But it is what it is and I have to accept it at this point.”

Fellow officers said Nucera slammed a handcuffed black teenager’s head into a door jam after he was falsely accused of swimming in a hotel pool without paying for a room.

Nucera insisted to FBI agents that he was not involved in the arrest.