USA - Paid Informants

[old hippie 56]

Been looking into paid informants out of curiosity. The remark "if the cops can't find nothing on you, they will create something" has new meaning. Would put the link up, but the site has a forum.


In a stunning revelation, which may have far reaching consequences on drug cases in Southern California, it was discovered that the DEA and other local law enforcement agencies have been subsidizing an unofficial and secret drug informant "ring." Apparently, "confidential sub-informants" were paid to deliver successful drug transactions and may have entrapped people into criminal activities.

To make matters look even more sinister, the Government is refusing to produce records concerning the "ring's" functions and activities in Southern California . Consequently, a criminal indictment against 3 defendants for drug trafficking was recently thrown out by a Federal Judge. The Government denied knowing about the use of confidential "sub-informants," but the Judge found this claim to be "highly unlikely" and "repeatedly proven to be unrealiable.

As a paid informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration, Guillermo Francisco Jordan-Pollito has achieved a remarkable record of success. Over the last 10 years, according to his own testimony in Los Angeles federal court, the former Mexican police officer has earned more than $400,000 in cash helping the DEA, the FBI, the Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, and the Santa Ana Police Department put together numerous cases against suspected sellers of cocaine, methamphetamines and other illicit drugs.

There's just one thing missing from that picture. The DEA's star undercover operative used a stable of his own paid informants to assist him in setting up drug buys, a fact that was kept from defense lawyers in an undetermined number of those cases.

Incredibly, these "sub-informants" were paid only if they successfully set up a "buy," fueling charges of entrapment. The network encouraged people to contact former "school days" friends and ask them where to buy drugs, which was allegedly for their "boss." Arguably, these practices may lead an otherwise law abiding citizen to criminally aid an "old school friend" set up a drug buy, especially after repeated pressure and phone calls.

In the case at issue, there was evidence of numerous phone calls between these "sub-informants" and defendants. However, none of these set-ups were recorded, leading to "an inference that pressure was being brought to bear by the sub-informant, which could have been used to support an entrapment defense." Ronald O. Kaye, a former federal public defender now in private practice, uncovered Jordan-Pollito's use of "sub-informants" last year after combing through telephone records turned over to him by federal prosecutors in a methamphetamine-trafficking case.

U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper stated: "A law enforcement agency must not be allowed to shield itself from accountability by hiring someone outside of law enforcement who is free to violate citizens' rights."

Reputation Comments on this post:

	Very interesting. At the very least this is a huge conflict of interest. Thanks for posting.
	Many thanks! Can you find anything about paid informants using the internet to bust people?

[Alfa]

It would be interesting to read how these informants use the internet to entrap people. Or to read actual cases. If anyone can find such cases or information, then please post this.

[old hippie 56]

Know of a couple of places to check, will take a little while.

[witchychick]

swim has been scouring the net for info and has come up with some interesting sites, namely this one, which is bizarre:

"
Is it legal for a website to publish the names and photos of persons its users claim are criminal informants (often referred to as “rats” or “snitches”), or undercover police agents? A website called “Who’s a Rat” says it is doing just that.
While it’s understandable that judges and the police are outraged by the site, the site appears perfectly legal - and it seems it will remain so, unless it ever were to actually threaten informants or undercover agents.
Absent such a threat, the content of the web site is protected by the First Amendment. In this column, I’ll explain why - drawing upon a key precedent relating to speech online that may be linked to potential real-world violence. "


http://www.whosarat.com/

http://www.gothamgazette.com/article...0080220/4/2437

a uk article:

http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Arch.../msg00003.html

The Metropolitan Police spent more than £2.2m on police informants in the year 2006-2007, it has been revealed. The Met paid out £2,220,574 in rewards for information about criminals operating in London and in other areas.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6933667.stm


swim is still looking for info on specific internet methods.

please be safe people.. we do have law enforcement members on this board. Be anonymous and be safe.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Thanks for the link, good find.

[old hippie 56]

Swim googled "costs of paid informants" this was the second in line:

DEA Agent Lee Lucas recently torpedoed a drug conspiracy case in Mansfield, Ohio. Turns out, it wasn't the first time for Lucas.
Federal drug agent Lee Lucas, whose rogue informant botched a major drug conspiracy case in Mansfield, had the same problem in Florida. And it could cost taxpayers $356,000.
That's how much a Miami businessman spent defending himself in a case with a bad informant Lucas handled 15 years ago. This month, a federal judge is expected to decide how much the businessman's family should be reimbursed for legal bills related to the case, though prosecutors are likely to appeal.
More...

The case mirrors the Mansfield investigation, in which Lucas' informant has admitted to lying and setting up nearly two dozen people, many of whom were his rivals in selling crack cocaine. Judges or juries later threw out charges against 23 of 26 people indicted, and a federal grand jury is investigating Lucas' role in the Mansfield case.
Von Schlieffen was released from prison after seven years by U.S. District Judge Wilkie Ferguson. He died in 2003 at age 58 and the money will go to his estate.
Here's the very important part:
"The bad faith in this case is a natural and probable result of the lack of conscientious and careful oversight by law enforcement agents in the use of paid informants," Ferguson said in a 2003 court order that prosecutors have appealed.
"Today's criminal justice system is at risk of being exploited by confidential informants like Groebe," Ferguson said. "The only people who can protect the system against the 'rogue actions' of confidential informants are those who use them: the government."
As for the money,
Under federal law, if the government brings a case and acts in bad faith, a person can seek the amount spent on attorney fees, though the appeals process can extend for years. Prosecutors agreed on the amount of the fees, according to court documents, but are expected to continue appealing whether agents and their informants acted in bad faith.
An Ohio federal grand jury is now investigating Lucas for his use of informant Jerrell Bray. Bray admitted he and Lucas set people up. Bray got 15 years.
Bray has been convicted of perjury and sentenced to 15 years in prison. People sent to prison in the case have claimed Lucas and Bray testified that their voices were on secretly recorded tapes of purported drug deals, but the voices on tape were of other people. This month, government investigators gave several people convicted in Mansfield voice tests to compare their voices to those on the undercover tapes.
As Von Schlieffen's attorneys point out:
"The government, rather than heed Judge Ferguson's warnings regarding Agent Lucas, instead allowed him to go off to Ohio to imprison other innocents," the attorneys said.
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/9/28/125522/819
Another link to a book review:
http://books.google.com/books?id=b5z...esult#PPA50,M1

More to come

[witchychick]

Profile of a paid gov. informant ( this seems to be a 2001 article )

http://www.november.org/razorwire/rzold/22/22010.html

this 2006 article concerns a dr who was arrested for prescribing and a little on how he became embroiled in the situation:

" According to court documents, Dr. Morris and several other doctors allegedly used their assigned Drug Enforcement Administration numbers to approve prescriptions online. The numbers are assigned to doctors certified to prescribe controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act.
Dr. Morris told authorities he made an average of $4,000 a week in the ten weeks he worked for the company, although he was still owed $30,000, Ms. Marshard said.
The operation was penetrated by a special crimes unit in California that went undercover posing as customers and physicians willing to participate in the scheme. Police learned the operation was processing as many as 8,000 orders a day for diet pills."


http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2006/0...tor_arrest.php

and this article:

ABC News
Police Informant's Death Brings New Law, Lawsuit
Botched Drug Sting Could Mean New Rules for Police:

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=6518730&page=1