Border Agents, Lured by the Other Side ($$$)

[underpants]

Source: NY Times

4 page article

The pattern has become familiar: Customs officers wave in vehicles filled with illegal immigrants, drugs or other contraband. A Border Patrol agent acts as a scout for smugglers. Trusted officers fall prey to temptation and begin taking bribes.

The officer, Luis Alarid, 31, had worked at the crossing less than a year, and the loads included a vehicle driven by Mr. Alarid’s uncle, the authorities said. Mr. Alarid has pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to smuggle. Investigators found about $175,000 in cash in his house, according to court records.



One result of the awkward marriage of agencies that begat the Homeland Security Department is that three internal affairs units, in addition to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, have a hand in corruption investigations. In the best case, having more than one unit investigate corruption can be a “force multiplier,” in the words of one investigator, but more often, it can slow cases down and lead to confusion over who should take the lead, several investigators said.

The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has nearly 170 investigators to police 208,000 department employees — including other large agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, the Secret Service — and gets first crack at cases. When it passes on an investigation, the case is picked up by either the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s office of professional responsibility or the Customs and Border Protection internal affairs unit.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/us/27border.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

[The Doctor.]

1. It's all part of the cycle...

Create strife and poverty, respond with more police state, increase corruption, and it's all downhill from there.