Shoshanna Utchenik ticklethewire.com It took a while — a very long while. The first African-American federal law enforcement officer to be killed in the line of duty after Reconstruction was in 1883. He was lynched by a bloodthirsty mob of 200 townspeople in Mississippi. Now, more than a century later, the life and service…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com What ever makes people think they can do crazy things to federal agents and get away with it? Maybe we should ask Ted Schlenker of Louisville, a former Kentucky gun shop owner. Authorities charged him with mailing a 9 mm pistol and a threatening letter to an ATF agent who had…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The U.S. likes to think that it contributes positively to many countries. In Mexico, that’s not always the case. ATF reports that 68,000 guns recovered by Mexican authorities between January 2007 and December 2011 were traced back to the U.S., USA Today reports. The paper reported that many weapons were recovered…
Shoshanna Utchenik ticklethewire.com Steven J. Bogdalek is the new head of ATF in Los Angeles, which includes Southern California, the agency announced. Bogdalek began his career with ATF in Detroit in 1987, according to the PR Newswire. From 2002 until this latest appointment, he served as Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the St. Paul…
By Shoshanna Utchenik ticklethewire.com The blame game continues in Operation Fast and Furious. The latest: Two ATF managers — Bill Newell and David Voth — claim fed prosecutors blocked efforts to arrest gun runners or seize weapons before they crossed the border in Mexico, according to the Arizona Daily Star. The controversial program has caused…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Bad news for ATF agent Michael Justin Fanelly. A fed grand jury in Raleigh, N.C. has indicted him on charges of witness tampering and making a false statement to a law enforcement officers, the News Observer reported. The paper reported that the grand jury charged that he interfered with two officers…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Ever since news surfaced of ATF’s highly-flawed Operation Fast and Furious, the agency has not only taken a hit in the public relations arena, but also in the area of morale. Fox News reports that an internal survey shows that the men and women of the agency gave harsh marks to…
