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America’s Drug Appetite Helps Make Honduras One of the Most Dangerous Places on the Globe
Ross Parker was chief of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit for 8 years and worked as an AUSA for 28 in that office. By Ross Parker ticklethewire.com SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras — I spent last week in Honduras with a couple dozen friends under the watchful and protective eye of…
Pittsburgh Police Chief Resigns Under Pressure Amid FBI Investigation
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper resigned Wednesday amid a federal investigation into his department, the Associated Press reports. The AP wrote that Mayor Luke Ravenstahl met earlier in the day with FBI agents and decided Harper should step down. “I’m not going to talk to you about the chief’s reaction,” the mayor…
Online Activist Who Committed Suicide Was Being Closely Monitored by FBI
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Aaron Swartz, an online activist who committed suicide last month, was being closely tracked by the FBI, Salon reports. Records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show agents monitored the 26-year-old’s activity on the internet and collected information on even banal online activity, Salon wrote. The probe began when the FBI…
FBI Doesn’t Buy Police Claims that Georgia Banker Accused of Embezzlement Is Dead
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A judge believes Aubrey Lee Price, a Georgia banker accused of embezzling more than $20 million, is dead. The FBI, however, doesn’t buy into a written confession and note that said he planned to drown himself off the Florida coast after he disappeared in June, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports. The FBI…
Ex-Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. Pleads Guilty in Scheme Involving Campaign Cash
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., 47, pleaded guilty Wednesday for using campaign cash to buy personal items, including jewelry, fur capes and parkas, celebrity memorabilia, furniture and high-end electronics, the FBI said. Jackson also admitted he tried to conceal illegal activities, such as false and misleading reports to the Federal Election Commission….
Justice Department’s Pledge to Get Tough is “Beyond Laughable,” Writer Says
Rolling Stone Opinion I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but . . . the latest ploy by the government to insist it is “getting tough” on Wall Street is beyond laughable. The tough new-and-improved regime, as described by the curiously credulous Dealbook, is a policy of extracting criminal guilty pleas from foreign…
FBI Agents Association Warns of Dire Risk to Public Safety if Budget Cuts Kick In
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The FBI Agents Association on Wednesday warned of the potential risks to national security and public safety if across-the-board, automatic spending cuts kick in from the sequestration. FBIAA President Konrad Motyka stated: “The FBI Agents Association urgently calls on Congress and the White House to reach an agreement that would avoid…
Royce Curtain Who Led Fort Hood Investigation is New Head of FBI’s Norfolk Office
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Royce E. Curtin, who led the FBI’s Fort Hood shooting investigation in 2009, has been tapped to head up the agency’s Norfolk Field Office. Curtin last served as chief of staff and special assistant to a high-ranking executive who oversees all FBI criminal, cyber, crisis response, and international operations. Curtin joined…