This Drug Trafficking Case Says A Lot About What's Wrong With Undercover Cops In America
After a three-year federal investigation of motorcycle gangs, a federal magistrate judge has recommended dismissing drug trafficking charges against a key target because an undercover agent allegedly manufactured a crime just to charge him, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
The recommendation is the most recent example of a judge criticizing undercover operations that lead to convictions of people who may be unlikely to ever commit crimes on their own.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Cam Ferenbach criticized the alleged conduct of an undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agent in an investigation that "deployed techniques that generated a wholly new crime for the sake of pressing criminal charges against [Jeremy] Halgat," the judge wrote in his decision.
Halgat was a 36-year-old former officer of the Vagos motorcycle gang, which was investigated by the ATF with the help of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and police from Las Vegas and North Las Vegas.
While undercover as a member of the Vagos motorcycle club, an ATF agent allegedly tried to entice Halgat to take part in illegal activities. But Halgat "was not eager to participate in ... [the] scheme in any capacity," Ferenbach wrote, adding, "His willingness to traffic in drugs only re-emerged after ATF injected itself into Halgat's life and repeatedly solicited his services."
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/outrageous-conduct-shows-whats-wrong-with-undercover-cops-2014-7
