Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The DEA has alarmed marijuana advocates after sending cease-and-desist letters to 11 dispensaries in the Seattle area, the Seattle Times reports. Although state law permits medical-marijuana dispensaries, federal law bans all forms of pot. The letters, however, don’t signal a war against state marijuana laws, according to the DEA. The dispensaries were…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The DEA cannot eavesdrop on Apples’s iMessage chat service because of secure encryption, Slate.com reports. That’s good news if you’re concerned about privacy. But for law enforcement, the inability to monitor iMessages sent between two Apple devices is problematic. Wireless technology has challenged law enforcement’s ability to monitor suspicious activity. The problem…
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. This is the second in a two-part series. To read the first part, click here. By Ross Parker ticklethewire.com Part one of this report discussed the…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Ex-DEA agent Louis (Louie The Actor) Diaz, testified last week in Brooklyn federal court in the trial of a Gambino mobster that he did some devilish things himself while working undercover, Gang Land News. Mob expert Jerry Capeci, editor of Gang Land News, reports that Diaz testified in the racketeering…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com President Obama will name Julia Pierson as director of the U.S. Secret Service, the first female to head that agency, USA Today reported. An official announcement is expected Tuesday afternoon. Pierson, 53, now serves as the service’s chief of staff, USA Today reports. Other women who head law enforcement agencies include…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The DEA is refusing to answer questions about three of its agents who are still on the federal payroll despite their alleged involvement in a prostitution scandal in Colombia, the Washington Examiner reports. The accusations are serious. DEA agents are accused of paying for a prostitute for a Secret Service supervisor and…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com If the federal government doesn’t act soon, it may lose the chance to stamp out recreational pot laws in Colorado and Washington, cautioned eight former DEA officials, the Associated Press reports. Although voters legalized small amounts of possession last year in those states, the law still conflicts with a federal ban on…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The state and justice departments have no intention of investigating complaints of human rights violations and other misconduct by DEA agents in Honduras, the Washington Times reports. At issue is the May 2012 deaths of four Honduran villagers during an anti-drug operation along the Carribean coast. Some lawmakers and human-rights groups have…
