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ICE Chief of Staff on Leave Amid Complaints Including Sexual Harassment
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com ICE Chief of Staff Suzanne Barr is on leave while the agency investigates claims that she treated men poorly, the New York Daily News reports. Barr voluntarily placed herself on leave Tuesday, said ICE spokesman Brian Hale. New accusers are speaking out after a lawsuit was filed on behalf of ICE Special…
Too Much Evidence Prompts Dismissal of Prescription Drug Case
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Is it possible to have too much evidence against someone? It appears so after a federal judge in Iowa dropped a case involving the nation’s largest prosecution of Internet pharmacies, the Associated Press reports. The evidence against former Miami doctor, Armando Angulo, included more than 400,000 documents and two terabytes of electronic data,…
A Bird’s Eye View of Baltimore’s High-Flying Pot Conspiracy
By Van Smith Baltimore City Paper BALTIMORE — The Lancair IV-P airplane is a sleek four-seater, capable of flying 330 miles per hour and more than 1,500 miles on a tank of gas. The one that was seized in June 2009 from Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, near Denver, had been purchased the previous summer for…
Judge Tosses Muslim Spying Lawsuit Against FBI
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A federal judge rejected a lawsuit against the FBI that alleges the agency unlawfully spied on Orange County Muslims in California, the Los Angeles Times reports. U.S. District Court Judge Cormac Carney wrote that “the state secrets privilege may unfortunately mean the sacrifice of individual liberties for the sake of national security.”…
Fewer FBI Agents, Border Patrol Officers Under Budget Cuts
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Washington’s funding crisis likely will mean fewer FBI agents and border patrol officers as Congress tries to cut $55 billion from domestic programs, the Associated Press reports. The across-the-board, 8%-12% cuts are set to go into effect Jan. 2. It’s unclear, however, whether those cuts would remain as Republicans and Democrats try to…
FBI Probe of Trenton Mayor Mack Is Widened
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The focus of an FBI investigation into Trenton City Hall is spreading beyond Mayor Tony Mack’s first two years in office, the Times of Trenton reports. Included in the probe is Mack’s 2010 mayoral campaign. The Times of Trenton reported that agents are quizzing his officials about Mack donors. The FBI raided…
FBI: Gangs Becoming More Dangerous, Prolific
By Steve Neavling ticklethwire.com Gangs are becoming more dangerous and prolific, according to the 2012 FBI gang report. There are more than 33,000 gangs across the country, with as many as 1.4 million members, the Business Insider reports. About half of violent crimes committed in the U.S. are gang-related, the report states. The FBI also…
Gary Douglas Perdue to Head Pittsburgh FBI
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Gary Douglas Perdue has been tapped to head up the Pittsburgh office of the FBI. Perdue had last served as chief of the Counterproliferation Center in the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate at FBI Headquarters. Perdue began his career with the FBI as a contract language specialist in 1985. He became…