By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A former Secret Service agent received an additional two years in prison for stealing bitcoins during an investigation into drug marketplace Silk Road.

Shaun Bridges, 35, was sentenced in 2015 to nearly six years in prison stealing more than $800,000 worth of bitcoins during the Silk Road probe.

Bridges pleaded guilty in August to money laundering in another criminal case involving the theft of more than $350,000 with of bitcoin that today is worth more than $800,000. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco sentenced Bridges to another two years in prison, the Justice Department announced. 

The investigation shut down Silk Road in October 2013, and authorities said the site generated more than $214 million in sales of drugs and other illicit goods and services, relying on bitcoins for payment.

3-D model of a virtual bitcoin. Photo: Trader Tim/Flickr

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The former Secret Service agent who was prosecuted for stealing $800,000 in bitcoins while investigating the dark website Silk Road was arrested at his Maryland home a day before he was scheduled to turn himself in to begin a prison sentence, the Guardian reports. 

Arresting officers made a discovery that questions whether Shaun Bridges was planning on leaving the country. The found a bag with his passport and “corporate records for three offshore entities in Nevis, Belize and Mauritius.”

Officers also found several Secret Service-issued bullet proof vests that appear to have been stolen from the federal government, the Guardian reported, citing an arrest warrant.

Bridges is now in custody because he is considered a flight risk.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A former Secret Service agent who illegally accessed the now-defunct Silk Road website and stealing bitcoin was sentenced Monday to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay $1 million for the siphoned currency, the Wall Street Journal reports. 

Shaun Bridges, 33, pleaded guilty to felony charges of money laundering and obstruction of justice.

Officials pegged the value of the bitcoin at $350,000 when the currency was stolen.

Bridges sold the currency for $820,000.

Bridges’ attorneys urged the judge to sentence him to three years in prison.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A DEA agent who stole more than $700,000 in digital currency from online drug dealer Silk Road was sentenced Monday to 6.5 years in prison for extortion and other charges, the Associated Press reports. 

DEA Agent Carl M. Force, 46, went undercover as a drug dealer with ties to hit men.

Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht was recently sentenced to life in prison.

Force was accused of selling information about the investigation.

Other Stories of Interest

• FBI Investigating Shooting at Fort Hall Indian Reservation
• ATF Searches for Suspects Who Beat Man, Set Fire to Liquor Store
• FBI Warns That ISIS Desperately Wants to Launch Cyber Attack
• Border Patrol Agent Accused of Threatening Juveniles in Explorer Program
• DEA Agents Open Office in Rio de Janeiro

Two former federal agents are expected to be arrested on Monday on charges of stealing money while working undercover on an investigation into Silk Road, the once-thriving black market website for drug dealing, a document shows.

The former agents are Carl Mark Force IV, who worked for the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Shaun Bridges, who worked for the Secret Service.

Mr. Force is being charged with wire fraud, theft of government property and money laundering, and Mr. Bridges is being charged with wire fraud and money laundering, according to an affidavit filed in the United States District Court in San Francisco.

To read more click here.

By Steve Neavling

Silk Road, a notorious online drug supplier, has been busted again, The Verge reports.

The FBI, Homeland Security and European law enforcement seized the replacement site.

Authorities arrested suspected operator Blake Benthall, 26, in California on Wednesday.

It appears Benthall slipped up when he used his own email address for a Silk Road 2.0 server and didn’t anonymize the software.

He is expected to be charged with conspiring to commit narcotics trafficking, conspiring to commit computer hacking, conspiring to traffic in fraudulent identification documents and money laundering conspiracy.

Whitey Bulger

Mob boss convicted: One of the nation’s most notorious mafia leaders, James “Whitey” Bulger, was sentenced to life in prison on Nov. 13 after a Boston federal jury found him guilty of racketeering, money laundering and extortion. Bulger was a violent, cold-blooded leader of the Boston Irish mob for decades. He had been on the run for 16 years.

Silk Road busted: In October, the FBI captured the elusive owner and operator of Silk Road – a website that sold drugs and other illegal items and services. The transactions were virtually untraceable because of a currency called bitcoins. The FBI seized $28 million worth of the bitcoins.

Bombs in Boston: A federal manhunt ended in the death of one suspect and the arrest of another in the Boston Marathon bombing in April. The suspects, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, are accused of placing a bomb at the finish line of the marathon on April 15. The blast killed three and injured more than 260 others.

Motor City corruption: Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to 28 years in prison for racketeering, extortion, bribery, fraud and tax charges in March. Kilpatrick, his father and a city contractor were running a criminal enterprise out of city hall.

Exploited children saved: In a nationwide sweep targeting underage prostitution in July, 105 juveniles were rescued and more than 150 alleged pimps arrested. The FBI coordinated with local, state and federal officials over three days to nab suspects in 76 cities.

Steve Neavling

Just a month after the FBI arrested its founder, the black market site Silk Road is back up, the Daily Caller reports.

The notorious site, where people could buy drugs, guns and even hit men, relaunched Wednesday with more protections for its customers, who use a currency called Bitcoin to avoid being traced.

“You can never kill the idea of Silk Road,” the new Dread Pirate Roberts tweeted just before the new site’s launch.

The Daily Caller wrote that the encrypted website cannot be easily dismantled by the feds.

After the FBI took over the site, it read “This hidden site has been seized.” On the relaunched site, the phase “seized” was replaced with “risen again.”