FBI
Texas Man Busted for Shining Laser on FBI Plane
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Note to Sammy Ladymon: Find a new hobby. The 45-year-old Garland, Tex. man was arrested Thursday night after getting caught pointing a laser at an FBI aircraft that was hovering above, NBC DFW reported. The station reported that the FBI pilot flew over the area in response to complaints from pilots…
Prosecutor to Blago: “You Are a Convicted Liar, Correct?”
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Loaded for bear, federal prosecutors began their cross examination Thursday of the ever-chatty ex-Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich with a very blunt question. “Mr. Blagojevich, you are a convicted liar, correct?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar asked, according to the Chicago Tribune. “Yes,” answered Blagojevich, according to the Trib. His lawyers tried…
Tough Az. Sheriff Joe Bows to Justice Department
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON – Score: Justice Department 1, Maricopa County, Az., Sheriff Joe Arpaio 0. Sheriff Joe and his department, after much resistance, entered into a legal settlement Thursday to fully cooperate with the Justice Department, which is investigating allegations of civil rights violations involving patrols and jail operations. In announcing the settlement,…
Judge Orders Feds to Turn Over FBI Recorder and Failed Battery in Portland Terrorism Case
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Portland prosecutors in the 2010 attempted bombing of a Christmas tree lighting ceremony to hand over a faulty FBI battery and recording device used in the case, The Oregonian newspaper reported. The prosecution said it already had turned over 6,000 pages of documents. The defense…
Ky. FBI Agent Who Headed Up Major Corruption Case Dies of Heart Attack While Jogging
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com A 46-year-old FBI agent, who headed a major corruption probe in Clay County, Ky., died Tuesday from an apparent heart attack while jogging, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. The paper reported that Timothy S. Briggs, 46, who had been an agent since 1997, suffered the heart attack while jogging with another agent…
Atty. Gen. Holder Proposes Retroactive Breaks in Crack Cocaine Convictions
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — Atty. Gen. Eric Holder Jr. on Wednesday revisited a controversial subject Congress remedied last year by changing the disproportionate sentences between powdered cocaine and crack cocaine. Lawmakers stopped short of making the law retroactive. Enter Holder. Holder appeared before the U.S. Sentencing Commission and urged that the law be…
SEC Lawyer Revealed Identity of FBI Informant, IG Says
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — The Inspector General for the Securities and Exchange Commission discovered a big no no: A lawyer for the SEC allegedly disclosed the name of a confidential source in an FBI probe to a witness in the case, the Washington Post reported. The Post’s David Hilzenrath reports that a SEC…
Eastern European Mob #1 Priority for FBI in South Fla.
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com South Florida isn’t just the home of white belts, white shoes, early bird specials and transplanted New York mobsters. The Miami Herald reports that the Eastern European mob has become a big concern for the FBI — bigger than the Italian mafia. “Eurasian organized crime is our No. 1 priority,” FBI…