By Allan Lengel Deadline Detroit DETROIT –– Ex-federal prosecutor Richard Convertino has once again failed in his bid to get ex-Detroit Free Press reporter David Ashenfelter to disclose his sources. U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland ruled Monday that Ashenfelter, who recently retired from the Free Press, had the right to invoke his Fifth Amendment privileges,…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Robert Levinson vanished 2,456 days ago. That makes the retired FBI agent the longest-held American hostage, according to the New York Daily News. Journalist Terry Anderson was held hostage for 2,454 days. He was freed in 1991 by the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to the Daily News. Levinson worked at the…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The General Services Administration has narrowed down the list of possible new locations for a new FBI headquarters by adding more geographic requirements, the Washington Post reports. The FBI has become more restrictive about location, saying the new headquarters must be within two miles of a Metrorail station and within two-and-a-half miles…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A former minister in Virginia claimed earlier this year that his porch and car were set on fire, and the side of his house painted with a racial slur. The financially struggling minister, Olander D. Cuthrell, 42, said he was the target of a hate crime. Not so. Turns out, he set…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Border Patrol agents came under attack by more than 100 people throwing rocks and bottles, CNN reports. No serious injuries were reported. The unruly group ignored stop orders from a Border Patrol agent and attempted to cross from the San Ysidro Port of Entry in California. Not even fire pellets with pepper…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Reported hate crimes dropped slightly in the U.S. last year, and almost half the cases involved race, the Guardian reports. The FBI statistics show reported hate crimes fell from 6,222 in 2011 to 5,796 in 2012. “The numbers show that we as a nation still have a way to go toward alleviating…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Things aren’t looking good for James Contreras, who was an ATF supervisor in Seattle. The Seattle PI reports that Contreras, 51, has been indicted on charges that he stole $19,700 from ATF from funds that were earmarked for undercover agents to buy guns and for informants. The feds allege that he…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Investigations into the U.S. Secret Service have been bungled by senators and plagued with nepotism allegations against an inspector general, according to congressional and government sources, the Washington Times reports. Despite allegations of sexual misconduct against a Secret Service agent, Sen. Claire McCaskill has demanded an end to the investigation, and Deputy…
