News Story
DEA Chief Resigns Following ‘Sex Parties’ Investigation, Lax Discipline
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com DEA Director Michele Leonhart, who has come under sharp criticism over agents’ misconduct, has announced her retirement. Attorney General Eric Holder said Leonhart, who served as the agency’s top administrator since 2010, told him of her plans Tuesday, The USA Today reports. She was the first women to serve as director….
TSA to Begin More Stringent Screening of Airport, Airline Workers After Incidents
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The TSA will begin more stringent screening of airport and airline workers following allegations that a Delta Air Lines baggage handler was smuggling guns, In Homeland Security reports. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson also said the security changes are a reaction to another alleged incident in which a Federal Aviation Administration…
6 Minnesota Men Charged with Terrorism in Alleged Plot to Join ISIS
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Six Minnesota men have been charged with terrorism after the FBI alleges the suspects tried to travel to Syria to join Islamic State extremists. The friends were U.S. citizens of Somali descent. They are are Mohamed Abdihamid Farah, 21; Adnan Abdihamid Farah, 19; Abdurahman Yasin Daud, 21; Zacharia Yusuf Abdurahman, 19;…
Chilling Questions Raised about FBI’s Flawed Testimony on Microscopic Hair
By The Charlotte Observer Editorial Board In a chilling admission last week, the FBI and Justice Department acknowledged that examiners in an elite FBI microscopic hair comparison unit gave flawed testimony in more than 95 percent of trials over approximately two decades before 2000. What’s more chilling is what we don’t yet know about additional…
FBI Finds No Civil Rights Violations in Deputy Shooting of Black Man in Texas
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A white sheriff’s reserve deputy who killed a black man in Tulsa, Okla., did not commit civil rights violations, the FBI has found following an investigation. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Tulsa County sheriff’s office held a news conference to announce the FBI findings. “They found no wrongdoing,” Sheriff…
Mexican Immigrant Busted for Stealing Border Patrol Agent’s Identity
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Border Patrol agents did a double-take after checking a bus passenger’s papers at a checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas. The passenger’s license, birth certificate and Social Security card all identified the passenger as 34-year-old David, a fellow Border Patrol agent assigned to the same area, Valley Central reports. Agents knew it wasn’t…
Bill Will Allow Retired Federal Agents to Carry Concealed Pistol in Restricted Zones
By Greg Stejskal ticklethewire.com LANSING — On April 14th, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed Senate Bill 53 that will correct an oversight in a law for retired federal law enforcement agents. The bill will take effect 90 days after the signing. Michigan statutes regulating the licensing of individuals to carry a concealed pistol had designated…
Elite FBI Forensic Unit Gave Bad Testimony in Cases Involving Hair Evidence
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI and Justice Department admitted for the first time that forensic unit for the bureau provided false testimony in nearly every trial that involved hair analysis, The Washington Post reports. All but two of the 28 examiners with the FBI Laboratory’s microscopic hair comparison unit “overstated forensic matches in ways…