U.S. Attorney David Gaouette/doj photo

The suicide of a key witness Monday in the fed crackdown on the black market of American Indian artifacts has put the first trial in jeopardy, the Associated Press reported.

The AP reorted that Colorado’s U.S. Attorney David Gaouette “says he’s reviewing the evidence left for a trial that was to start March 29.”

The wire service reported that Gaouette is reviewing to use videotape of key witness Ted Gardiner, who shot himself Monday following a police standoff.

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In the rough streets of Baltimore, the influence of foreign drug dealers may not be obvious — that is until you do some digging. Reporter Van Smith has done just that, and connected the dots in this report.

The logo of the Los Zetas Cartel/baltimore city paper

BALTIMORE – “The goal of any drug dealer is to cut out as many middle men as possible in order to increase profits.”

That statement was made by Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein a year ago, when he unveiled Operation Xcellerator, a U.S. Justice Department initiative aimed at laying low the long reach of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.

“I do believe,” he said at the time, “there are Baltimore drug dealers who do this by having connections with drug distributors outside of the U.S.” He vowed to “continue to trace the drugs back to the source, work our way to the top, and ultimately indict the major players.”

Since then, law enforcers here have successfully ferreted out some international ties to Baltimore’s entrenched drug economy. Though Rosenstein’s office points to only one Xcellerator case in Baltimore–a conspiracy with ties to Hollywood and Baltimore City Hall (”Mexican Connection,” Mobtown Beat, March 4, 2009)–City Paper has found three recent examples of evidence filed in U.S. District Court that indicate direct ties between Baltimore and foreign sources of supply, including the fearsome Los Zetas cartel in Mexico.

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tsa photo

A Congressman is raising a stink about some rogue Transportation Security Officers at airports.

Joe Davidson, the Federal Diary columnist for the Washington Post, reports that Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has written a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano complaining that travelers have been subjected “to baseless harassment, intimidation, and situations designed to instill fear and cause public humiliation.”

Davidson reports that the letter claims some TSA workers were involved in “childish practical jokes” and that some disabled passengers were mistreated.

To read full column click here.

By Allan Lengel

Ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, under federal indictment on  public corruption charges, has become the Rodney Dangerfield of his time: He gets no respect.

He was reminded of that Tuesday when he appeared before a crowd of 1,000 people at Northwestern University, his old alma mater, to talk about “ethics in government.”

The Chicago Tribune reports that while Blogojevich sees himself as a victim, the crowd “saw him more as a political clown.”

The paper reported that the crowd laughed “when a campus leader said the College Democrats invited the indicted Illinois ex-governor to speak to ‘make sure tomorrow’s leaders respect the rule of law.’”

“They laughed when someone insisted that tapping Blagojevich to lead an ethics discussion was akin to asking Tiger Woods to lecture on fidelity,” the paper reported.

The paper reported that the ex-gov was annoyed.

To read more click here.

By Allan Lengel

The terrorism cases in New York involving the subway bombing plot seem to be falling into place.

One week after a key figure Najibullah Zazi pleaded guilty in the plot, Ahmad Wais Afzali, the Queens imam who was an informant, has reached an “agreement in principle” to plead guilty, Newsday reported. He is charged with four counts of lying to the FBI.

Authorities alleged that Afzali tipped off Zazi that he was under surveillance in New York.

The paper reported that his lawyer confirmed the plea agreement in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday. He is charged with four counts of lying to the FBI.

OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST

• Audio Shows Child Directed Planes at NY Airport (AP)
• Washington State Changes Method of Execution (AP)
• Justices Hear Chicago Gun Case (Courthouse News Service)
• FinCEN Wants More Details to Fight Fraud (Courthouse News Service)
• Man Swallows Flash Drive While in Secret Service Custody (Smoking Gun)

By Allan Lengel

Ted Dan Gardiner, the undercover witness who helped the feds build a case against more than two dozen people charged with looting American Indian artifacts in the Southwest U.S. , has committed suicide, the Associated Press reported.

AP reported that the 52-year-old apparently shot himself Monday in a Salt Lake City suburb home.

The wire service reported that Gardiner had worked with the FBI and the Bureau of Land Management for more than two years.

Two of the 26 defendants committed suicide last year, AP reported.

Allan Lengel

D.C. Marion Barry, the guy who got busted years ago for smoking crack, the guy who got busted for failing to pay taxes, the guy who has been one great big embarrassment to the District of Columbia, has now been stripped of his committee chairmanship on the D.C. Council and faces the prospect of yet another federal investigation.

The D.C. Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to censure and strip the chairmanship from the never-a-dull moment politician as a result of an independent report by attorney Robert S. Bennett, which found that Barry landed his ex-girlfriend Donna Watts-Brighthaupt a $15,000 personal-services contract and then took a cut of the contract himself.

Ex-D.C. Mayor Marion Barry

The council also referred the report to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Washington Post reported.

Marion Barry, former mayor, former community activist, has done some good things for D.C. But he has also done plenty harm. It’s not good when you’re the punchline for comedian Chris Rock. It’s not good when the masses lose faith in you as a leader.

Taxpayers over the years have paid for the expensive federal investigation into his wrongdoing — including him not paying taxes.

He has been an endless source of fodder and amusement for the media. But it’s time to put it to an end.

It’s time for him to step down from the city council — or be forced off.  He’s not a terrible guy. He’s just a terrible representative of the people.

It really is time to say goodbye.

Judge Richard Posner/ harvard photo

Two federal Court of Appeals judges from Chicago took the stand Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court, saying they felt threatened by the rantings of Internet radio shock jock Hal Turner, the New York Daily News reported.

Federal Judges Richard Posner and William Bauer took the stand and Judge Frank Easterbrook was scheduled to testify in the afternoon. Turner is being retried on charges that he threatened the lives of the judges. A mistrial was declared in the first trial after the jury deadlocked.

Turner wrote in his blog that the judges deserved to die for upholding a gun ban. He also said the judges “didn’t get the hint” after the husband and mother of Chicago Federal Judge Joan Lefkow were murdered, the Daily News reported.

“It’s obviously a threat,” Posner said, according to the Daily News. “It sounds like another murder is needed…namely of me.”

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