July 2010
Mexican Drug Lord Killed By Soldiers
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com These days Mexico chalks up far more defeats than victories when it comes to battling the increasingly violent drug cartels. But Thursday, Mexico authorities declared a major victory when one of the top three leaders of Mexico’s most potent drug cartel, Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel, was killed in a gunfight with soldiers,…
Will Failed D.C. Porn Case Dampen Fed Prosecutors’ Zeal?
John Stagliano/facebook photo By Allan Lengel For AOL News WASHINGTON — In courtroom 18 in the sterile D.C. federal courthouse, Justice Department prosecutors earlier this month tried nailing a major producer of adult pornography on obscenity charges. The lawyers, part of the department’s Obscenity Prosecution Task Force, spent four days presenting their case against California…
America’s Love Affair With Some Serial Bank Robbers
By Matt Castello ticklethewire.com On the ever-popular Facebook, words of support, encouragement and disbelief plaster a wall with 2,700-plus followers dedicated to the elderly, ever-elusive San Diego bank robber dubbed the “Geezer Bandit”. “This is the first time I’ve heard of this guy,” wrote one Facebook fan. “And he just became my personal hero.” “Financial…
Pres. Nominates 2 U.S. Attys and 2 Marshals
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — President Obama on Wednesday nominated U.S. Attorneys for the Middle District of North Carolina and the Western District of Michigan along with Marshals for the Northern District of Georgia and the Central District of California. For the U.S. Attorney post in Grand Rapids, Mi., the President nominated M. Scott…
Obama Admin. Wants to Give FBI More Access to Email Data
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The FBI could be getting more powers when it comes to getting data on Internet activity. Reporter Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post reports that the Obama administration wants to change a law so that it would allow the FBI to compel companies over individual’s records of their Internet activity without…
Column: Ex-FBI Official Mike Mason Says Investigating Cheating Would Be Waste of Time and Money; Better to Re-Administer Test
Mike Mason/fbi photo Michael Mason, a former assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, retired as the executive assistant director at FBI headquarters in 2007. His column is in response to the Justice Department investigation into whether potentially hundreds of FBI agents cheated on an open book test on a computer they…
House Passes Bill Reducing Sentencing Disparity With Crack Cocaine
By Glynnesha Taylor ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday passed legislation drastically reducing the sentencing disparity between crack and powdered cocaine — a longtime disparity critics saw as unfairly targeting African Americans. Previously, under the 1986 law, a person selling crack got the same sentence as someone selling 100 times the amount of powdered…