TSA

TSA Screeners Allegedly Took Bribes To Let Drugs Pass Through Los Angeles Airport

Nick R. Martin | April 25, 2012, 5:03PM

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced criminal charges against four security screeners who worked at Los Angeles International Airport and were allegedly paid thousands of dollars in bribes to look the other way while drug shipments slipped through security checkpoints.

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DOJ

DOJ Report: DEA Needs To Be More Covert About Their Undercover Airplanes

Ryan J. Reilly | December 14, 2011, 12:55PM

The Drug Enforcement Administration needs to keep their undercover aerial operations targeting narcotics trafficking along the Mexican border and in foreign countries a bit more hush-hush, according to a new report from the Justice Department's inspector general.

As of March, DOJ investigators searching the FAA aircraft registration database were able to find records of 25 domestically-based DEA aircraft that "should have been registered covertly to fictitious or cover organizations but that were not." As of Sept. 7, 13 DEA aircraft that should have been registered covertly still weren't (TPM found five planes registered still registered to the DEA in a search of the FAA's database on Wednesday).

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Joe Arpaio

Bail Posted For Ex-Joe Arpaio Employees Charged With Smuggling Heroin

Jillian Rayfield | October 14, 2011, 6:30AM

Two former employees in the Maricopa County Sheriff's office have posted bail after being charged with conspiring to smuggle heroin and launder money. Three in total are facing charges.

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Boeing

Undercover Sting Nabs Boeing Military Aircraft Factory Workers Buying, Selling Fake Drugs

Ryan J. Reilly | September 29, 2011, 3:26PM

Boeing's Ridley Township, PA plant.

Boeing thought a lot of employees who work on military aircraft at their factory in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania were on drugs. So they brought in the feds.

The FBI, DEA and federal prosecutors announced Thursday the arrest of 37 current and former employees (and one non-employee) accused of abusing prescription drugs, the result of a "coordinated, long-term, undercover effort" that Boeing cooperated with.

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Supreme Court

Supreme Court: Police Can Search If They Hear Evidence Being Destroyed

Eric Lach | May 17, 2011, 2:23PM

In an 8-1 decision Monday, the Supreme Court said that police did not violate the Fourth Amendment barring "unreasonable searches and seizures" when they smelled marijuana outside a Lexington, Kentucky apartment, knock loudly, announced themselves and -- after hearing what they thought was the sound of evidence being destroyed -- entered without a warrant.

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Drug Cartels

Texas Lawmen Not Amused By 'Call Of Juarez: The Cartel' Video Game

Eric Lach | February 17, 2011, 8:32AM

Ever fantasize about being in a shoot-out with murderous cartel members in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico? This summer, the video game company Ubisoft is scheduled to release "Call of Juarez: The Cartel," the latest installment in the "Call of Juarez" series. A couple of real life Texas lawmen are already expressing worries about the game.

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Ted Stevens

Feds Says More To Come From Ted Stevens FBI File

Ryan J. Reilly | February 16, 2011, 11:45AM

Fmr. Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK)

The release last week of the FBI file of the late Sen. Ted Stevens painted a colorful portrait of the long serving Alaska Republican. But noticeably absent from the file were documents from the federal corruption investigation that ended his political career. Not to worry -- the FBI says that part of the file is still in processing and will be released down the line.

An FBI spokesman told the Associated Press that the investigative files were still pending. The news service said it wasn't clear when the new investigative files would be released.

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

2 U.S. Immigration Agents Shot In Mexico

Eric Lach | February 15, 2011, 6:48PM

Two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents were shot in Mexico earlier today, the agency has announced. The agents were driving between Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico, and were attacked by "unknown assailants."

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Drug Enforcement Agency

Marijuana Backers To GOPers: Why Not Cut The DEA Budget?

Ryan J. Reilly | February 3, 2011, 11:15AM

With Republicans in the House looking to cut down on spending in the next fiscal year, supporters of legalizing marijuana have a suggestion for where they should start -- the Drug Enforcement Agency's budget.

Sure, they know it's a long shot. But the Marijuana Policy Project's Steve Fox told TPM it makes a lot of sense.

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Paul Babeu

Test Of AZ Deputy's Shirt Comes Back Negative For Gunpowder: 'I Did Not Shoot Myself'

Eric Lach | October 8, 2010, 12:46PM

Pinal County Sheriff's Deputy Louie Puroll

An analysis of the shirt worn by Pinal County Arizona Sheriff Deputy Louie Puroll on the day he says he was shot by drug smugglers has come back negative for gunpowder, suggesting the shot was not fired from close range, as some experts who had examined photos of Puroll had suggested to a Phoenix New Times reporter. The test lends support to Puroll's account of the incident, which was questioned by the pathologists and other experts contacted by the New Times. Sheriff Paul Babeu told reporters yesterday that the matter is now closed.

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Barbara Boxer

Boxer Aide Quits After Bringing Weed To Work

Ryan J. Reilly | September 8, 2010, 6:12PM

A top economic adviser to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) quit his position after he was caught attempting to bring marijuana into his Senate office building.

The aide, Marcus Stanley, was stopped by Capitol Hill Police at an entrance to the Hart Senate building on Tuesday when officers found him with "a green, leafy substance which tested positive for marijuana,'' a spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal.

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Drugs

Police Dismiss Right-Winger's New 'Proof' Of Phony Mexican Drug Cartel Raid

Eric Lach | August 13, 2010, 1:20PM

Kim Dvorak, a conservative reporter in San Diego, has published a police message that she claims is evidence that a Mexican drug cartel really did invade the country in July and take control of two remote ranches near Laredo, Texas. And while local law enforcement says the message proves nothing, Dvorak's latest report does provide clues to how the whole story came to life in the first place.

Dvorak was one of the two bloggers who originally reported the story, which was denied by law enforcement, and then debunked. But Dvorak always stood by the story, and pledged to return with proof.

This week, Dvorak published her follow-up, unearthing a police document that she's holding up as confirmation of the incident.

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Immigration

Right-Wingers Stand By Their Fabricated Mexican Drug Cartel Raid Story

Eric Lach | July 30, 2010, 1:21PM

According to anonymously-sourced reports pushed by right-wing blogs last weekend, members of Mexico's notorious Zetas drug gang crossed the border into Texas and, "in what could be deemed an act of war," seized two ranches near the border town of Laredo. The situation was dire, wingers warned, but a government enforced media blackout kept knowledge of the raid from the general public.

Really?

No, not really.

Here's the thing: the "raid" never happened.

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Andrew Warren

Fed Court Filing: How An Armed, Drugged-Up CIA Agent Fell Apart

Ben Frumin | May 7, 2010, 10:16AM

The seal of the U.S. C.I.A. inlaid in the floor of the Original Headquarters Building

CIA Agent Andrew Warren was already on probation on charges that he had sex with a drugged woman in Algeria, where he was serving as CIA station chief, before breaking down in Virginia last month in what sounds like an epic unraveling.

According to a new federal court filing, Warren allegedly exposed himself to a woman, lied about his name and social security number when confronted by police about it, and said he had a "Glock service weapon" (that he refused to show police). And then, during a conversation with police at his home on April 3:

Warren then proceeded to show the officer a disguise kit and said that he could use it to hide from anyone because he had been trained by the CIA. Warren told the officer that he had been trained in the martial arts, all types of weapons and spoke eight Arabic languages. During this communication, the officer reported that Warren took down the officers' names and unit numbers and stated words to the effect of "it will be different the next time I meet with you".

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Hutaree

Feds: Guns, Crack, Steroids, Hitler Book Found At Hutaree Homes

Justin Elliott | April 12, 2010, 3:05PM

Kristopher Sickles

Prosecutors allege that a dizzying array of drugs, weapons and even a collection of speeches by Adolf Hitler were found at the homes of several of the alleged members of the Hutaree Christian militia.

The AP got a look at the search warrant records in the case, in which prosecutors allege that nine Hutaree members were plotting to kill police. At the trailer of Hutaree leader David Stone, three DVDs labeled "Waco," a grenade holder, over 35 guns, and materials for a "funnel shape charge" were allegedly found.

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Kabul Shooting

Coke, Booze, Assault: Blackwater Contractors' Past Revealed In Murder Case

Justin Elliott | January 25, 2010, 6:35PM

SUV involved in May 2009 traffic incident

The two former Blackwater contractors who were charged this month with murder for the shooting death of two Afghan men left the military with other-than-honorable discharges for behavior ranging from assault to going AWOL and testing positive for cocaine, according to service records that surfaced in bond hearings, the AP reports.

A judge in federal court in Virginia has ordered Christopher Drotleff and Justin Cannon held in custody; arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday. The judge called Drotleff "a danger to the community based on the nature of the charged offense, his history of alcohol abuse and criminal and military history which include crimes of violence."

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Raymond Martin

Alleged Crooked Sheriff On Pot-Dealing Competitor: I'll 'Put The Fear Of God In Him'

Justin Elliott | January 5, 2010, 1:42PM

Raymond Martin

Sheriff Raymond Martin once pulled his service revolver from its holster and pointed it at his drug-dealing partner, warning the man there was no "getting out" of their relationship, a criminal complaint against Martin alleges.

We told you earlier about how Martin, the sheriff in rural Gallatin County in southern Illinois, was arrested last May on drug and gun charges for allegedly dealing marijuana that had been confiscated by police.

Martin and his wife and son were charged Monday with murder-for-hire, reportedly for targeting witnesses who are going to testify against Martin. While the details of the alleged murder plot have not been released, we've now dug into the original drug complaint against the sheriff.

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Paul Bergrin

Feds: Former US Prosecutor Helped Rub Out Witnesses For Gangster Clients, Ran Drugs And Call-Girls

Zachary Roth | November 24, 2009, 12:14PM

Paul Bergrin

From federal prosecutor to accused violent gangster, pimp, and drug-dealer...That's the unusual career trajectory taken, say the Feds, by Paul Bergrin, who was indicted earlier this month in a 39-count racketeering indictment.

In a drama that could have been made for HBO, Bergrin -- a white-collar defense lawyer who once represented, pro bono, a solider accused of abusing Abu Ghraib detainees -- seems to have allowed his gangster clients to drag him into a world of violent crime. And he may have gone a lot further than Maury Levy ever did for Stringer Bell.

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