DEA Says Lebanese Bank Laundered Drug Money Linked to Hezbollah

By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — The DEA and Treasury Department on Thursday accused the Lebanese Canadian Bank SAL and its subsidiaries (LCB) of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in drug profits by an organization linked to the Lebanese organization Hezbollah. In its announcement, authorities designated the bank as a “primary money laundering concern.”…

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Some Scratch Head: Wonder Why R.I. Fed Prosecutors Were Left Out of Loop on Major Drug Bust Linked to Mexican Cartels

By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The unusual circumstances warranted this headline in the Providence Journal on Wednesday: “U.S. Prosecutors Left in the Cold on Drug Bust.” The paper reported that when state police and DEA agents in Providence, R.I., last week announced the seizure of 145 pounds of cocaine, $1.2 million in cash and the arrest…

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Administrative DEA Officer Indicted in Minn. on Child Porn Charges

By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com A 48-year-old administrative officer for the DEA has been indicted in Minneapolis for producing child pornography involving a 15-year-old boy. Scott James Whitcomb of Zimmerman, Minn., was indicted Thursday in federal court and charged with coercing a 15-year-old boy into engaging in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing pornography,…

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Could Deep Budget Cuts Spell Doom for Agencies Like FBI and DEA?

By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Could big Congressional budget cuts spell doom for agencies like the FBI and DEA? Conservative Republicans on Thursday demanded dramatic cuts, the Washington Post reported. Specifically, members of the conservative Republican Study Committee said the GOP needs to keep a campaign pledge and immediately cut at least $100 billion from non-defense…

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