Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Border Patrol is shifting much of its attention from Arizona to Texas as increasing numbers of Mexican gangs smuggle people and drugs into the country, The Guardian reports. Authorities believe the agency’s success in tightening the borders in Arizona has prompted gangs and other lawbreakers to gain access in remote areas of…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Federal authorities are investigating Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins in connection with his decision to seek criminal mortgage fraud charges against an oil heir, the Dallas Morning News reports. Questions are swirling about whether Watkins leveled charges against oil heir Al Hill II in 2010 as a favor to political contributors,…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Four ATF agents who were killed during the botched raid on the Branch Davidians compound near Waco, Texas, will be honored during a private ceremony today – the 20th anniversary of the raid, the Associated Press reports. Killed during the Feb. 28, 1993, gun battle were agents Conway LeBleu, Todd McKeehan, Robert John…
Second of a two part series. By Ross Parker ticklethewire.com Stan Garnett, the District Attorney in Boulder, recently told the people of Colorado that, although he was not morally or philosophically opposed to the death penalty, he had simply concluded that it was too expensive, time consuming, and subject to random application. As…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com It looks as if it’s the end of the road for Louisiana’s ex-Rep. William Jefferson, who is in prison serving a 13-year sentence for a public corruption conviction. Bruce Alpert, the star reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, reports that the U.S. Supreme Court Monday refused to take the appeal…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A Border Patrol agent on foot patrol in Texas died Friday following a medical emergency, the agency told Tickle the Wire today. Foul play isn’t suspected in the death of Agent David Delaney, said Bill Brooks, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agency is awaiting results from an autopsy to determine the…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Private landowners may play a key role in the battle to crack down on human and drug smugglers along the Mexican border, Reuters reports. Texas officials announced an initiative Thursday to allow landowners to equip their property with hundreds of small, motion-activated cameras. Many landowners already have an incentive. “Our farmers and…
