By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
Cleveland DEA agent Lee Lucas who was acquitted last week of helping frame 17 suspects in a 2005 sting, would like to return to his job, his attorney told the Associated Press on Monday.
“Lee looks forward to returning to duty with the DEA as quickly as possible,” Joel Kirkpatrick told the AP in a phone interview.
AP reported that Kirkpatrick expected Lucas , a 19-year DEA veteran, to be cleared in the civil lawsuits filed by people who were wrongfully charged in the sting.
Lucas was known as a hard charging agent, but also somewhat of a cowboy whose tactics sometimes raised questions.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office had charged him with covering up and lying about made up information provided by an unreliable informant.
The AP said it could not reach anyone Monday at DEA headquarters for comment.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that DEA officials this week could decide on the status of Lucas, who had been suspended without pay after his indictment last year.
