Steve Neavling

 The FBI trailed outlaw journalist Hunter S. Thompson during his eclectic career, interviewing those close to him and gathering information on his whereabouts, RT.com reports.

It’s unclear why the bureau was interested in Thompson, but a journalism professor suggested the FBI wanted to know more about his time with biker gang, the Hell’s Angels, and his affiliation with the Communist Party.

Some of the files have since been destroyed, according to RT.com.

Records obtained by the newspaper, the Argus Leader, show the FBI had a deep interest in Thompson, who was outspoken about his hatred of former president Richard Nixon and who unsuccessfully ran for sheriff in Aspen, Colorado, on the “Freak Party” ticket.

“The intrusiveness of FBI domestic security investigations is on display here,” South Dakota State University journalism professor Matt Cecil said. “An agent just barged into Woody Creek, Colorado and started asking questions. Obviously, the FBI didn’t care much what conclusions people drew from that. Thompson probably didn’t either. Imagine, however, that you were the subject of a 1960s domestic security investigation and agents came into Sioux Falls and started asking questions about you. What inference would people make?”

Thompson committed suicide in 2005.

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Steve Neavling

The FBI arrested four people – three of them former and current cops – accused of scheming to steal cash from drug dealers, the bureau announced Wednesday, according to the Jackson Free Press.

In September 2011, the men allegedly entered a Jackson, Mississippi, hotel room of suspected drug dealers and stole $23,000 in cash, the FBI reported in a press release.

One of the men arrested, Zack Robinson, 45, is a deputy at the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office. Two others are a former Jackson Police officer (Kent Daniels, 44) and former deputy with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office (Watson Lee Jackson, Jr., 42).

A fourth person, George Hilliard, 43, was arrested.

All made initial court appearances Wednesday.

Steve Neavling

The good news: The crackdown on methamphetamine in the U.S. is working.

The bad news: Mexican drug cartels are fulfilling the demand by pumping out cheap, potent meth from so-called “superlabs,” the Associated Press reports.

“These are sophisticated, high-tech operations in Mexico that are operating with extreme precision,” said Jim Shroba, a DEA agent in St. Louis. “They’re moving it out the door as fast as they can manufacture it.”

Meth coming from Mexico now accounts for 80% of the drug being sold in the U.S., according to the DEA.

And it’s more enticing then ever – purer, faster, strong and longer-lasting.

Steve Neavling

 Federal agents investigating a Houston business that is accused of sending microelectronics that can be used for weapons and radar to Russia spied on damning phone calls, the Houston Chronicle reports.

One of the most revealing phone calls that helped the FBI was a phone call between an ARC Electronics manager and college newspaper reporter who inquired about the business’ ability to get around strict export laws.

“We’re lying,” the manager said, according to the Chronicle.

In another call, among thousands recorded by the FBI, a company manager told a Russian employee, “We will be f—–,” if someone found out about the exports, the Chronicle reported.

 Steve Neavling

The FBI is investigating the death of a man who died while in police custody in Milwaukee after a newspaper report cast suspicions over the manner of death, the Associated Press reports.

A medical examiner changed the cause of Derek William’s July 6, 2011, death from natural to homicide after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detailed the last moments of his life.

Williams, 22, died in the back of a squad car after struggling to breathe, the AP reported.

A video shows Williams losing consciousness after he complained he couldn’t breathe.

He was pronounced dead 45 minutes later, following failed efforts to resuscitate him, according to the AP.