By Allan Lengel For AOL News WASHINGTON — In the film “Take the Money and Run,” Woody Allen played a bumbling, publicity-starved petty criminal named Virgil Starkwell. “You know he never made the Ten Most Wanted list,” Starkwell’s wife, Louise, lamented in the 1969 comedy. “It’s very unfair voting. It’s who you know.” As Allen’s…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Apparently Facebook isn’t just for chatting it up with old pals or initiating a discussion about the latest Monet art exhibit. ATF is investigating allegations that a Virginia inmate used Facebook to threaten government witnesses in his upcoming arson case, station WSLS reported. The station, citing a federal search warrant for…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III headed out to California earlier this week, not to let his hair down, but to meet in Silicon Valley with top executives from several companies including Facebook and Google to discuss a proposal to make it easier to wiretap Internet users, the New…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — The Nigerian letter scam has officially arrived — at least in my case — on Facebook, the most popular social network. The other day I received a personal message on Facebook. This fella has a lot of money for me. Millions. He wants me to help him get the…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Detroit political consultant Sam Riddle, who created drama by defying court gag orders and posting comments on Twitter and Facebook, was hit Wednesday with a 37 months federal sentence for bribery and extortion, the Detroit News reported. Riddle, 64, admitted bribing former Southfield City Councilman William Lattimore, tax evasion and extorting…
By Allan Lengel For AOL News WASHINGTON — A Justice Department document asks the simple question: Why Go Undercover on Facebook, MySpace, etc.? Then it goes on to explain: “Communicate with suspects/targets” … “gain access to non-public info” … “map social relationships/networks.” The document, part of a Justice Department PowerPoint presentation, shows how some federal…
By Allan Lengel For AOL News WASHINGTON — A Justice Department document asks the simple question: Why Go Undercover on Facebook, MySpace, etc.? Then it goes on to explain: “Communicate with suspects/targets” … “gain access to non-public info” … “map social relationships/networks.” The document, part of a Justice Department PowerPoint presentation, demonstrates how some federal…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — Well, social networking isn’t just for socializing anymore. An internal Justice Department document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows federal agents are going undercover on such social networks as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter to investigate cases, according to the Associated Press. The AP reports that agents…
