Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
An undercover FBI agent accused of using tax dollars to pay for prostitutes for himself and others while posing as an arms broker in the Philippines denied wrongdoing, the Washington Post reports.
“At no time did I pay to have sex with any employee” of the two clubs, according to the declaration filed by federal prosecutors. “I was never told by any manager that the bill included prostitution, nor did I ever see prostitution, in any term, listed on any bill.”
The agent, whose name hasn’t been made public, sought nearly $15,000 for reimbursements for entertainment and other expenses, records state, according to the Post.
The subjects of the FBI investigation are now asking for the case to be dropped because of the agent’s alleged behavior. A defense attorney representing one of the defendants made the allegations about prostitutes in court papers.
Federal prosecutors said law enforcement officials never saw the undercover agent go anywhere to have sex with prostitutes.
Here is part of the statement by the FBI agent that was filed Monday. The statement mentions Philippine clubs called Area 51 or Air Force One.
“Each time an undercover meeting occurred with the defendants at either Area 51 or Air Force One, we would meet in private rooms were called ” Karaoke rooms.” There were no beds in any of these rooms. An extra fee was changed by the managers of the KTV bars for use of the rooms. In the persona of an arms-buyer, I wanted defendants to believe that I represented wealthy drug dealers and that I had ready cash to finance the arms dealing.
“As a seemingly wealthy patron of Area 51 and Air Force One, the managers of those clubs plied me with female employees who would sit with us. In fact, when you wanted to have a conversation outside the presence of any of the female employees, you had a pay a fee so that she would leave. At the end of the evening, the manager of the club would present me with a bill that included all costs for everyone in the room. The bills were not itemized. In keeping with my persona as a businessman, I would dispute the bill loudly, but mak sure that , at the end, the defendants understood that I paid the entire bill, in cash.”
“At no time did I pay to have sex with any employee of either Area 51 or Air Force One. At no time was I alone with any female employee of Area 51 or Air Force One. At no time did I leave the club in the company of a woman, nor was alone with a woman in a private room. Nor was the CS, who was present during every meeting with the defendants that occurred at Area 51 and Air Force One, ever alone with any female employee of the clubs. I never saw any defendant engage in any sexual act. I was never told by any manager that the bill included prostitution, nor did I ever see prostitution, in any term, listed an any bill.”
“In none of the undercover visits I made to Area 51, did I ever meet anyone who identified herself by the name ‘Natasha.'”
“At no time did I ever force any female employee of any nightclub to drink shots of alcohol. Nor did I ever berate or belittle any female employee of the nightclub.”
“At no time did I ask any employee of any nightclub to buy guns on my behalf or to sell me guns. Such a request would be counter to my persona of a well-connected arms buyer. The last undercover meeting at Area 51 took place on the night of September 24, 2011. At no time did I observe any women dancing or working as hostesses who appeared to be underage.”
