By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com

Michael Gavin, who recently served as section chief of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division’s National Covert Operations Section,  has been named special agent in charge  of  the Memphis Division, the FBI announced Tuesday. He will assume the new post in mid-August.

Gavin began his FBI career in 1995 and was first assigned to the Las Vegas Division, where he investigated white-collar crime, violent crime and organized crime.

During his 21-year career with the FBI he has worked investigations in the  Criminal Investigative Division, International Operations Division and Inspection Division and held leadership positions in Montgomery, Ala., San Francisco and D.C., according to a press release.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

More than 8,000 Syrians living in the U.S. were granted temporary amnesty Thursday.

The Washington Times reports that Homeland Security is allowing Syrian to remain in the U.S. for up to 18 more months.

Secretary Jeh Johnson issued “temporary protected status” to Syrians, saying they may seek work permits and other way to live in the U.S.

“Syria’s lengthy civil conflict has resulted in high levels of food insecurity, limited access to water and medical care, and massive destruction of Syria’s infrastructure. Attacks against civilians, the use of chemical weapons and irregular warfare tactics, as well as forced conscription and use of child soldiers have intensified the humanitarian crisis,” Johnson said.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

An FBI employee pleaded guilty to being an agent of the Chinese government, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Fun Shan Chun, 46, admitted he provided “sensitive” FBI information to a person connected to the Chinese government, CNN reports. 

The arrest was part of an undercover operation.

Chun is originally from China but became a naturalized U.S. citizen and employee of the FBI for 19 years.

Chun pleaded guilty to acting in the U.S. as an agent of China.

Hillary Clinton

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Hillary Clinton’s claim that FBI Director James Comey agreed that she was truthful to the public about classified emails is “incorrect,” reports Politifact.com. 

Clinton made the comment in an interview with Fox News Sunday.

“Clinton appear to have selective hearing,” Politifact concluded.

In fact, when Comey was asked during a congressional hearing whether Hillary lied to the public, the director responded, “That’s not a question I’m qualified to answer.”

Comey added that he hadn’t analyzed her public comments.

Politifact wrote:

When Comey announced the FBI’s findings July 5, it was clear that there are obvious inconsistencies between what Clinton said publicly about classified information on her private email server before her FBI interview and what the FBI found. Pointedly, Clinton said there wasn’t any classified information in her email, and he said there was.

Photo by Steve Neavling.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The DEA claims that homegrown marijuana operations are more dangerous than meth ones.

Meth labs are known to contaminate houses and spontaneously combust, causing serious damage.

But QZ reports that the DEA has turned its attention to marijuana grows because they are increasingly leading to property damage.

According to the DEA, many houses where pot is grown are haphazardly retrofitted with ventilation, high-powered lights and air-conditioning.

“Marijuana grows often cause extensive damage to the houses where they are maintained,” the DEA concludes. “Much like the ‘meth houses’ of the 1990s, many of these homes may ultimately be rendered uninhabitable.”

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A federal judge wants to make sure 39-year-old Bradley Prucha spends the rest of his life in prison.

The 39-year-old registered sex offender with a long criminal history was sentenced to 70 years in prison.

Prucha was charged and convicted of producing child pornography, acting as the ringleader of a multi-state retail theft scheme, distributing narcotics to minors and witness tampering.

“This man left a tremendous wake of victims and broken lives behind him,” said Special Agent Kevin Kohler, who investigated the case from the FBI’s Omaha Division. “He is a predator in every sense of the word.”

The FBI said Prucha relied to vulnerable teenage girls to help carry out the crimes. He also paid to have sex with them and even filmed himself having sexual encounters with minors.

“For the most part, these were vulnerable teenage girls who didn’t have stable home lives,” Kohler said. “Prucha was able to recruit them by taking them on trips and buying them gifts and pretending to care about them when no one else in their lives did.”

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• FBI: Detroit Built Up Arsenal, Talked of an Attack
• Judge Bars Secret FBI Recordings in Alleged Bid-Rigging Plot
• FBI director calls for restart of smartphone encryption debate