News Story
Court Overturns Murder Conviction of Former FBI Agent John Connolly Jr. Linked to Mobster Whitey Bulger
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A Florida state court panel on Wednesday ruled that former FBI Agent John J. Connolly Jr. was wrongfully convicted of participating in a plot to kill a Florida businessman in 1982 at the urging of Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger. The Los Angeles Times reports that the three-judge appellate panel tossed out…
FBI Spied on Nelson Mandela During His First Visit to U.S. in June 1990
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com When Nelson Mandela visited the U.S. for the first time in June 1990, he was under the watch of the FBI. Al Jazeera America reports that the FBI used a confidential source to spy on Mandela, who had been recently released after spending 27 years in prison. The newly released documents are…
Columnist: Another Kafkaesque Moment in Saga of FBI’s Embrace of Whitey Bulger
By Kevin Cullen Boston Globe Pat Donahue was on the phone, incredulous not for the first time in this sordid, relentless mess. “So what you’re telling me,” she said, “is that John Connolly is getting off on a technicality, that he is probably going to get out of prison because of the statute of limitations?”…
One Border Agent Killed, Another Injured in On-Duty Crash in Arizona
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Two Border Patrol agents were on duty when their vehicle rolled over in Arizona, killing one of them and injuring another. The Arizona Daily Star reports that tread separation contributed to the accident at 7:40 a.m. Wednesday on Interstate 10 about eight miles east of Benson. The agents were rushed to the…
FBI Agent: LA County Jail Deputies Forced Inmates to Fight While Being Filmed
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The federal investigation of the Los Angeles County jails involved “dozens, if not hundreds” of allegations of violence at the hands of deputies, an FBI agent testified Wednesday. The Los Angeles Times reports that inmates claimed they were assaulted by guards and were forced to fight, sometimes while being filmed. FBI Special…
Feds Prepare Release of Thousands of Investigative Files on Folk Singer Peter Seeger
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Beloved folk singer Pete Seeger was subject to secret FBI and CIA surveillance since the 1940s and was even blacklisted for his political beliefs in the McCarthy era. Since Seeger’s death in January at the age of 94, the National Archives and Records Administration has been preparing to release thousands of investigative…
Puppies Lester And Lugo Are on Way to Becoming Part of Border Patrol K-9 Units
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Meet Border Patrol’s two newest enforcers – Lester and Lugo. The 4-month-old Belgian Malinois dogs arrived at the Yuma Sector K-9 unit this week, Yuma News Now reports. “Canines have been used in the Border Patrol as far back as the 1950s, but the current Yuma program started in 1986 with four…
Supreme Court: Secret Service Agents Immune from Protest Lawsuit Involving President Bush
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The Supreme Court halted a lawsuit that alleges unequal treatment by Secret Service agents. The Washington Post reports that the court unanimously ruled that agents were immune from the lawsuit because they were responsible for distancing protesters from then-President George W. Bush following a 2-0-4 campaign event in Jacksonville, Ore. “The maintenance…