Steve Neavling

FBI agents are trying to locate people who have accused Sen. Robert Menendez of corruption and patronizing prostitutes in what investigators believe may have been a set up to embarrass the Democrat as he ran for reelection last year, the Washington Post reports.

The investigation brought agents to the Palm Beach headquarters of the sugar and real estate empire where they questioned owners and brothers Alfonso and Jose Fanjul.

Menendez has denied he did special favors for campaign donations.

Agents have come up empty-handed in their investigation of Menendez using prostitutes and believe the senator may have been set up.

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Kwame Kilpatrick/deadline detroit

The FBI opened its investigation of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick more than 8 years ago after getting a variety of tips, the leader investigator on the case told WXYZ Channel 7 reports.

Channel 7 interviewed FBI Special Agent Bob Beeckman about an investigation that included some 70 agents, 1,000 witnesses and 40,000 text messages.

“If you have public officials that betray the trust of citizens, the whole fabric of society comes apart,” Beeckman told Channel 7.

The prosecution tallied more than 30 guilty convictions against Kilaptrick, his father and contractor Bobby Ferguson in the public corruption case two weeks ago.

Beekman said the most damning evidence was probably the text messages that revealed a lot about the former mayor’s administration.

Steve Neavling

A sheriff’s deputy in Tennessee found himself on the wrong side of the law this week.

The Murfreesboro Post reports that Rutherford County Deputy Louis R. Parra-Flores, 36, was busted following an undercover drug investigation involving cocaine.

The DEA accuses Flores of attempting to deliver 7 kilograms of cocaine, the Post reported.

“The actions of a few corrupt law enforcement officers harms the reputation of the many dedicated men and women who wear the badge with honor,” said U.S. Attorney Jerry E. Martin.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is mired in internal dysfunction and turf battles and is unable to stem corruption within its ranks, according to an internal study, the TheDailyBeast.com reports.

The website says the agency, which has about 60,000 employees, has been unable to control its disciplinary system or a culture of acceptable corruption.

The study, which showed myriad problems, was completed by the Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute, a type of think tank for the Department of Homeland Security.

The Center for Investigative reporting reviewed the 80-page unclassified report, which chronicles problems from as far back as 2002, the theDailyBeast.com reported.

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Bobby Ferguson pictured above. Art by Lauren Davies for Deadline Detroit.

DETROIT — He was Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s good buddy, his confidante, his favorite city contractor.

But Bobby Ferguson managed to turn off many in Kilpatrick’s inner circle.

Contractors and city officials — including Victor Mercado, the head of the water department — complained about Ferguson.

Even Kilpatrick’s sister, Ayanna, found Ferguson a big headache who wouldn’t go away.

“Here we go with the Bobby bull again,” Ayanna texted mayoral insider Derrick Miller, complaining that her brother kept feeding Ferguson city business — at the expense of her the clients she represented.

As the Kwame Kilpatrick trial moved into the New Year, prosecutors this week homed in on Ferguson, a co-defendant, who the feds have portrayed as a bully who illegally conspired with Kilpatrick to rig city construction contracts and extort contractors for a piece of their action.

In turn, the feds allege that Ferguson gave Kilpatrick kickbacks from the demolition and excavation work. Kilpatrick’s father, Bernard, a business consultant, is the other co-defendant in the trial that began in September and is likely to go at least into February.

To read more click here.

Mayor Tony Mack

 Federal prosecutors seeking an indictment of Trenton Mayor Tony Mack will present testimony Thursday to a grand jury in the corruption case, the Trenton Times reports.

Witnesses are expected to appear at the federal courthouse in Trenton beginning this morning as feds build their case against the mayor, his brother and campaign donor Joseph “JoJo” Giorgiann, all of whom were arrested Sept 10, the Times reported.

The arrests follow a two-year FBI probe.

The trio are accused of attempting to extort $119,000 in bribes in connection with a downtown parking garage project the ended up being an FBI sting, the Times reported.

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Ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick/official photo

Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is still managing to muster a smile after a week of his public corruption trial. And yes, he’s looking rather dapper, some days wearing a bow tie, others a traditional one.

That being said, the government had the upper hand during the first two days of testimony this week. The last two days went to the defense.

On the first two days of testimony — there was no court on Tuesday because of a Jewish holiday — the government scored points, establishing through bank records, that Kilpatrick suddenly became cash-flush as mayor, depositing more than $500,000 in cash in the bank beyond his salary, from 2002-2008. That helped lay a foundation for the feds, who have alleged that the mayor had no obvious source of cash and got the money through bribes and kickbacks, in part, by rigging city contracts to help his friend, contractor Bobby Ferguson land lucrative contracts.

Kilpatrick’s attorney, Jim Thomas, while cross examining an IRS agent about the cash, suggested that maybe Kilpatrick got legitimate cash gifts. In fact, Thomas mentioned that wealthy businessman Don Barden at a Kilpatrick birthday announced he was giving Kwame $5,000 right on the spot, and invited others do the same. (It wasn’t clear whether it was a check or cash).

To read the full story click here.

photo courtesy of Philadelphia Enquirer

 An FBI agent whose work helped jail dozens of Philadelphia and New Jersey politicians is retiring after 25 years with the bureau, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Agent John Roberts spent 20 years of his career in Philadelphia, where he became an expert on corruption and the politicians who turn to the dark side.

During his last five years, he ran the corruption squad.

His expertise took him as far away as Europe to lecture on corruption and pay-to-play politics, the Inquirer reported.

Roberts will take his skills to a senior manager position in the antifraud unit of the Deloitte accounting firm, according to the Inquirer.