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Based on newly disclosed records, it would appear the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is guilty of the very crimes they bust people for on a daily basis, and of course, punishments within the department are rarely (if ever) administered. From distributing drugs, to attending cartel parties with prostitutes, over 200 agents within the department have been found guilty of crimes that would be punishable by law to normal citizens, and the vast majority have not only gotten to keep their jobs, but never actually faced criminal charges.
The information surfaced as part of a media investigation into multiple government documents that have recently been released. The most shocking aspect aside from the crimes themselves is that in only 6% of the cases did DEA managers recommend firing, and in some of those cases, the agents were allowed to quit. What’s even more incredulous is that some of them got their jobs back later.
According to USA Today:
“The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has allowed its employees to stay on the job despite internal investigations that found they had distributed drugs, lied to the authorities or committed other serious misconduct, newly disclosed records show.
“Of the 50 employees the DEA’s Board of Professional Conduct recommended be fired following misconduct investigations opened since 2010, only 13 were actually terminated, the records show. And the drug agency was forced to take some of them back after a federal appeals board intervened.”
One such investigation from last year involved DEA employees who had attended “sex parties” with drug-cartel-supplied-prostitutes while on assignment in Columbia. According to the DEA’S administrator, Michele Leonhart, none of the involved agents were fired because federal law didn’t allow her to. When asked by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), “If somebody murdered somebody, could you fire him?” Leonhart replied, “If someone murdered someone, there would be criminal charges, and that’s how they would be fired.”
Leonhart resigned a week later.
In another case listed on an internal log, an agent was recommended to be fired for “distributing drugs,” however a human resources official suggested a 14-day suspension instead. That same log shows other employees were found guilty of falsifying official records, as well as having an “improper association with a criminal element,” and misusing government vehicles after drinking—officials opted not to fire these individuals.
In a statement from former DEA internal affairs investigator, Carl Pike:
“If we conducted an investigation, and an employee actually got terminated, I was surprised. I was truly, truly surprised. Like, wow, the system actually got this guy.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who is the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, had this to say:
“There is a culture of protection internally that has to change. If there’s a bad apple, they need to be fired, if not prosecuted, and that’s just not happening. Federal law enforcement should be held to the highest standard.”
Those at the Huffington Post conducted a follow-up look at the new documents, and listed the continued bad behavior:
Losing or stealing a firearm
More than 30 violations for driving while intoxicated (four of which were driving government vehicles, and one a hit-and-run)
Depriving individuals of their civil rights
Losing or stealing drug evidence
Losing or stealing defendants property
Committing fraud against the government (two were punished with a letter of caution)
General violations of DEA policy on drug use
None of the employees who committed the offenses above were fired, and former internal affairs investigator, Scott Ando, actually defends the actions of employees within the department with this statement:
“DEA agents should be held to a high standard, but not an unrealistically high standard. You can’t expect every agent to get fired for every transgression because they’re people and they sometimes make mistakes.”
Says the government agent who resides in a country where 1 out of 100 citizens are behind bars. If only this same sentiment applied to everyone—“We’re people and we sometimes make mistakes.” It seems such tolerance in America is only reserved for government officials.
Even by the DEA’s own standards, the department is a joke:
“The general feeling throughout senior leadership at DEA was that it’s a ridiculous system,” said James Capra, the former head of operations for the drug agency. “We used to joke that this guy got fired but he’s just going to get his job back.”
Moral of the story: If you want to be a genuinely loathsome person and get away with it, go into law enforcement. The DEA is now hiring criminals near you.
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This Article (Corruption in the DEA: Drugs, Stolen Guns, Prostitutes, and They Get to Keep Their Jobs) is a free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and AnonHQ.com.
Sources:
Gardner, Justin. The Free Thought Project. Oct 1, 2015. (http://thefreethoughtproject.com/investigation-finds-dea-agents-unpunished-failing-drug-tests-selling-drugs-stealing-lying/)
Heath, Brad and Hoyer, Meghan. USA Today. Sep 27, 2015. (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/09/27/few-dea-agents-fired-misconduct/72805622/)
In a small town in Arkansas with less than 300 folks our mayor is also a federal DEA agent…the head honcho for this area. Folks being indicted for conspiracy because of issues other than being illegal. Get indicted if he doesn’t like you. Conflict of Intereat??!!!! Who do turn to that will do anything? I’ve never been in trouble with the law but have been threatened since speaking out. I’m sure my computer is being read by them but it does t matter because it is the truth. It’s sick!!