Prologue By Kevin Cullen and Shelley Murphy He sat in the back of a black SUV wearing blue jeans, handcuffs, and a scowl. After sixteen years on the run, Whitey Bulger had returned to the South Boston waterfront, to a town that had changed so much that he stared uncomprehendingly out the window. He…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com John G. Perren, assistant director of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) Directorate, who has been at the forefront of the FBI war on terrorism, has been named ticklethewire.com’s Fed Of The Year for 2012. Perren, whose tenure has been extended beyond the FBI’s mandatory retirement age, has been with the bureau…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Everyday, people in federal law enforcement head to work, grab a coffee, maybe a donut or a bagel, comb through their emails, read a newspaper or website and go about fighting crime, protecting the public from violent drug dealers, public corruption, gun-related crimes, healthcare fraud and terrorism. But on occasion,…
Michael Mason is a retired Executive Assistant Director of the FBI. By Michael Mason For ticklethewire.com The recent mass shooting in Connecticut was an act of incomprehensible evil. However, in the wake of this tragedy we need to ensure we come together to present thoughtful and effective ideas to reduce the probability of such an…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com It’s interesting how soon we forget about public figures when they run afoul of the law. Sometimes years go by before we finally say, “Gee, whatever happened to Congressman so-and-so” and “I wonder when he’s getting out of prison.” Well, ticklethewire.com was wondering the same. So we checked with the Bureau…
By Dafna Linzer ProPublica A former brothel manager who helped the FBI bust a national prostitution ring. A retired sheriff who inadvertently helped a money launderer buy land. A young woman who mailed ecstasy tablets for a drug-dealing boyfriend, then worked with investigators to bring him All of them and hundreds more were denied pardons…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Ex-ATF official Bernie La Forest is at it again. The prolific La Forest has just knocked out his third mystery novel, “A Matter of Lex Talionis,” the story of a Lt. Andre de Avilés, who heads the Detroit Police Department’s Intel Squad. Described as a forty-somethin’, ‘balls-to-the-wall” detective known for…
By Cora Currier ProPublica Recent scoops on national security have drawn the ire of Republican lawmakers, who have accused the Obama White House of leaking stories that burnish its image. Obama responded that he has “zero tolerance” for leaks. He also said: “the writers of these articles have all stated unequivocally that they didn’t come…
