February 2014
Mentally Ill Man Gets 15 Years in Prison for Plotting to Blow up Bank of America in California
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A homegrown terror plot in California was so fanciful and bizarre that few people believe the California suspect could have pulled it off. Nevertheless, a judge sentenced Aaron Llaneza to 15 years in prison Thursday for trying to blow up a Bank of America in Oakland with a fake bomb, which investigators…
Lawmakers Call for FBI Investigation of Private Prison in Idaho Over Understaffing, Falsified Records
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A private prison in Idaho is under fire for possible criminal wrongdoing. Top Democratic lawmakers in the state are urging the FBI to investigate Corrections Corporation of America, a private prison company based in Tennessee, because the state lacks the manpower and expertise to handle such a large inquiry, the Associated Press…
Authorities: Border Patrol Agent Threatens Family with Gun, Kills Dog Because Wife Wouldn’t Kiss Him
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A Border Patrol agent became so enraged when his wife wouldn’t kiss him that he threatened his family with a gun, shoved his wife and then shot their dog, Las Cruces Sun-News reports. Carmelo Diaz Jr., 44, of Las Cruces was charged with three felonies, including aggravated assault against a family member…
HBO “Girls” Star Lena Dunham Detained by TSA Over ‘Cute Little Cat’ Keychain
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com “Girls” star and creator Lena Dunham was detained by the TSA recently for possessing what she considered a “cute little cat” at Los Angeles International Airport, Today reports. Dunham was carrying a “self-defense key chain.” “It’s shaped like a cat — it goes over your knuckles,” she told Seth Meyers on “Late…
DEA Accuses Man of Selling Heroin from Doggy Daycare Center
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The DEA wasn’t barking up the wrong tree when agents raided a doggy daycare in Washington state. King 5 News reports that Arlington Doggy Daycare was selling heroin out of its business in Arlingotn. Busted was 42-year-old David Funk, who was charged this week with knowingly and internationally distributing heroin. Funk also…
ATF official Tom Brandon: No New Stings Underway After Botched Operations
By John Diedrich and Raquel Rutledge Milwaukee Journal Sentinel WASHINGTON — After running nearly 40 undercover storefront stings in the last five years, the ATF’s deputy director says no such operations are now underway and that improvements in oversight have been made in the wake of botched operations nationwide. Deputy Director Thomas E. Brandon testified…
Update: Attorney General Eric Holder is Fine and Home From the Hospital
Update: Thursday, 4:30 p.m. — Attorney Gen. Eric Holder was released from the hospital this afternoon. The Justice Department issued a statement: “The Attorney General has been discharged from MedStar Washington Hospital Center. He was taken there earlier today as a precaution, after experiencing lightheadedness and shortness of breath during a senior staff meeting at…