U.S. Attorneys

US Attorney's "Convenience Store Initiative" Probed Middle Easterners For Terror Ties

Zachary Roth | September 29, 2009, 3:35PM

In the period after 9/11, law-enforcement agencies around the country suddenly made rooting out anyone with possible ties to terrorism a top priority. But did one Bush appointee take that zeal too far by targeting people based on little more than an Arabic-sounding name?

The Convenience Store Initiative was the farcical-sounding name of a program launched by the office of Jim Greenlee, the US attorney for Mississippi's northern district, according to documents obtained by the state's Clarion-Ledger newspaper.

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Bill Sparkman

Sparkman's Son: "He Didn't Do This To Himself"

Zachary Roth | September 29, 2009, 3:33PM

Bill Sparkman

The Associated Press has tracked down the son of the Bill Sparkman, the Census Bureau worker found dead earlier this month in rural Kentucky. And Josh Sparkman, 19, has no doubt his father was murdered.

"I look at it as disrespectful to be still throwing suicide and accident around," he said. "He didn't do this to himself. That's dishonorable. My dad was a good man. No person on this planet is going to fight cancer like he did, then turn around and kill himself a year or so later."

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FBI

From FBI Agent's Affair List: 'Lori M. Sex While On The Job. Jeopardized Case'

Justin Elliott | September 28, 2009, 6:45PM

John Guandolo

The FBI says it's reviewing why it didn't reveal to prosecutors in the corruption case of Congressman William Jefferson that an agent on the case had an affair with a key government informant, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

And in a court filing unsealed today, first noted by the Times-Picayune, Jefferson prosecutors detail more about the FBI agent, John Guandolo, and the list of sexual conquests he wrote.

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FBI

Coroner Confirms "Fed" Written On Sparkman's Chest

Zachary Roth | September 25, 2009, 9:28AM

Bill Sparkman

The local coroner has confirmed that the word "Fed" had been written on Bill Sparkman's chest when he was found dead earlier this month.

Jim Trosper, the Clay County coroner, confirmed the information to TPMmuckraker moments ago, adding that the word appeared to have been written in felt tip marker. He declined to give additional details.

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FBI

FBI: Sparkman Was Found Touching Ground, Not Hanging From Tree

Zachary Roth | September 24, 2009, 5:48PM

Bill Sparkman

Bill Sparkman, the Census worker found dead in Kentucky recently was not found hanging from a tree, according to an FBI spokesman. Rather, David Beyer told TPMmuckraker, Sparkman's feet were planted on the ground. A rope around Sparkman's neck was attached to a tree.

An anonymously sourced AP report said that Sparkman was hanging from a tree, and that he had the word "Fed" scrawled on his chest.

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Census Bureau

Dead Census Worker Was Warned To "Be Careful" In Rural Kentucky

Zachary Roth | September 24, 2009, 4:48PM

Bill Sparkman was warned about the danger of going into rural parts of Kentucky to conduct Census interviews, a retired state trooper who knew him told TPMmuckraker.

Gilbert Acciardo, who ran an after-school program at a southeastern Kentucky high-school where Sparkman was a substitute teacher, said that when Sparkman -- a Florida native -- first started doing the Census work, "I said, you're going into rural Kentucky, isolated areas. Be careful over there -- people may not understand that you're there to gather statistics."

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Bill Sparkman

Census Worker Found Dead In Kentucky -- What Do We Know?

Zachary Roth | September 24, 2009, 2:54PM

Over the last 24 hours, we've been tracking a gruesome story developing involving the death of a Kentucky Census Bureau worker. The potential political implications of what happened are already generating a lot of attention around the internet -- so it's worth taking a moment to lay out what we know.

On September 12th, the body of Bill Sparkman, a 51-year old part-time Census worker and teacher was found in a remote area of the Daniel Boone National Forest, in Clay County, in rural southeast Kentucky. Sparkman reportedly had died on the morning of the day before.

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FBI

Feds: Zazi Bought Beauty Products To Build Bomb

Zachary Roth | September 24, 2009, 12:26PM

Najibullah Zazi

The accused terror plotter indicted this morning by the Feds seems to have spent a lot of time in recent months shopping for beauty and home improvement products.

According to a document filed by prosecutors, the FBI found on the computer of Najibullah Zaz instructions for making explosives, including Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP). That's the explosive that was used by the London train bombers of 2005, and by Richard Reid, the "shoe-bomber," in 2001. It's made from hydrogen peroxide, acetone, and strong acid such as hydrochloric acid.

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FBI

Alleged Terror Plotter Indicted

Zachary Roth | September 24, 2009, 11:11AM

Najibullah Zazi

Najibullah Zazi has been indicted on a charge of conspiracy to use a weapons of mass destruction -- explosive bombs -- the Justice Department has announced.

Zazi, who lives outside Denver, had previously been charged with making false statements to investigators, after he was questioned by the FBI in connection to that New York City terror probe.

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John Guandolo

Report: Therapist Of Philandering FBI Agent Advised Him To Draw Up List Of Sexual Conquests

Justin Elliott | September 24, 2009, 10:27AM

John Guandolo

We told you yesterday about the FBI agent who resigned after superiors found his list of sexual conquests, including a key witness in the corruption probe of Congressman William Jefferson, and who now appears to be hyping the threat of Islamic terrorism professionally.

But what left us scratching our heads, and what a court filing didn't address, is why the exactly the agent, John Guandolo, would write and then keep a document listing affairs with female FBI agents and a witness in a high-profile corruption case.

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FBI

NYPD Official Transferred After Misstep With Imam Disrupted Terror Probe

Zachary Roth | September 24, 2009, 10:18AM

Najibullah Zazi

Fallout from that New York City terror probe...

The New York Times reports:

The New York Police Department has removed a senior official from one of its two sometimes competing antiterrorism units, after it played a role in disrupting a sensitive federal terrorism investigation, current and former police officials said on Wednesday. He was replaced by a top official from the other unit.

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ACORN

ACORN Hidden Camera Scandal Being Probed By Feds, Brooklyn DA

Zachary Roth | September 23, 2009, 4:54PM

ACORN has been contacted by the FBI and the Brooklyn district attorney's office in connection to the recent scandal in which staffers were caught on video advising two people posing as a pimp and a prostitute on how to break the law.

The news was revealed by Arthur Schwartz, ACORN's general counsel, on a conference call with reporters moments ago. (Full disclosure: Almost a decade ago, I was hired by Schwartz to work on a political campaign.) Schwartz said that the requests for information were not subpoenas, but confirmed that they were part of investigations into possible criminal activity revealed by the videos. He added that ACORN is cooperating with those requests.

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John Guandolo

The Strange Case Of The Philandering, Muslim-Threat-Hyping FBI Agent

Justin Elliott | September 23, 2009, 2:01PM

John Guandolo

An FBI agent who worked on the corruption case of former Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson resigned after superiors found a list he wrote of his sexual conquests with agents and a confidential source, according to court documents.

The same agent, John Guandolo, who is married and who unsuccessfully solicited a $75,000 donation for an anti-terrorism group from a wealthy witness in the Jefferson case with whom he was having an affair, resigned from the FBI and appears to have landed on his feet on the speaking circuit playing up the threat of Islamic terrorism.

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Justice Department

Big Dem Donor Nemazee Indicted In Alleged $292 Million Scheme

Zachary Roth | September 21, 2009, 6:10PM

Hassan Nemazee

Federal prosecutors have accused a major Democratic fundraiser with ties to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that involved swindling several major banks out of hundreds of millions of dollars, and using some of the proceeds to fund political candidates and PACs.

According to a Justice Department press release, Hassan Nemazee was indicted this afternoon by a grand jury, charged with using fake documents and signatures to bilk Citibank, Bank of America, and HSBC out of over $290 million, in an alleged scheme that dates back to 1998. Nemazee alleged used the Citibank money to repay the B of A loan, and vice versa. And even after being questioned by FBI agents about the Citibank loan last month, Nemazee allegedly went to HSBC to fraudulently draw down a line of credit, which he tried to access funds to pay back Citibank.

You can read the indictment here.

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FBI

Report: Terror Suspect Admits To Qaeda Ties

Zachary Roth | September 18, 2009, 3:39PM

Najibullah Zazi

Several outlets, including ABC News and Fox News, are reporting that Mohammed Zazi, the man whose Colorado home was this week raided by the FBI in connection to a suspected terror plot has admitted ties to al Qaeda, and is negotiating to plead guilty to a terror charge.

That plea would be part of a deal to cooperate with the government. According to a law enforcement official, Zazi received explosives training. Other reports have suggested he was found with plans for building bombs on his recent trip to New York.

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FBI

The NYC Terror Plot: What Do We Know?

Zachary Roth | September 17, 2009, 2:19PM

Najibullah Zazi

Over on the main blog, Josh wrote the other day about the alleged terror plot which led police to raid an apartment building in Queens on Monday, and then a suburban Denver home yesterday. Josh noted that the Feds seem to being playing this one a lot closer to the vest than in other cases of recent years -- which could be a sign that it's more serious.

So let's take stock of what we know...

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