By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
A federal trial has begun in the case of an FBI agent accused of framing a man in the kidnapping and robbery of two Kansas City drug dealers.
FBI agent Robert Buchan is accused of framing Gary Engel, a former Willow Springs, Ill. cop, who was sentenced to 90 years in prison but released after 20 years after evidence surfaced that a mobster, Anthony Mammolito, had been paid $500 to be a key witness in the trial, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Engel ended up hanging himself.
His brother sued.
During opening statements Monday in Chicago federal court, Engel’s attorney, Jon Loevy, said his client was “collateral damage” by FBI agents willing to do anything to put him behind bars.
“Gary Engel’s life was ruined by a completely unconstitutional trial in which he was railroaded,” Loevy said. “Gary went down in their quest for Steve Manning, but Gary is a real person.”
The agent’s attorney said Engel clearly committed the crime.
