Jerry Seper

Kingpin’s cash goes to fight drug cartels across Texas

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies have distributed the bulk of $29.5 million in "asset sharing" funds to a dozen Texas law enforcement agencies to combat drug cartels. Published February 20, 2012

Two plead guilty in illegally exporting computers

A California man pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Washington to charges of conspiring to illegally export computers from the U.S. to Iran through the United Arab Emirates (UAE). An associate also pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. Published February 16, 2012

Five New England mobsters agree to plead guilty in racketeering case

Five men identified as leaders or associates of the New England organized crime family have agreed to plead guilty to racketeering-related charges, according to documents filed Thursday in federal court in Providence, R.I. Published February 16, 2012

Top Mexican gang boss gets life sentence

One of the top bosses of a Mexican gang tied to more than 1,500 killings during a terror campaign along the U.S.-Mexico border — including the fatal ambush of a U.S. Consulate employee, her husband and the husband of another consulate worker — has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Published February 15, 2012

‘Operation Fake Sweep’ nets $5M in counterfeit NFL items

A nationwide enforcement operation targeting stores, flea markets and street vendors selling counterfeit NFL and Super Bowl memorabilia has netted more than 50,300 counterfeit items that would have sold for more than $5.1 million. Published February 8, 2012

Border Patrol union decries hiring of immigrant ‘public advocate’

The Obama administration's appointment of a public advocate for immigrant concerns about law enforcement policies makes a "mockery of the laws of the United States," the National Border Patrol Council said Wednesday. Published February 8, 2012

Issa pushes Holder to produce documents or face contempt

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was threatened Thursday with contempt of Congress by Republican members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who said the Justice Department has failed to turn over key documents in the committee's ongoing investigation into the botched "Fast and Furious" gunrunning operation in Arizona. Published February 2, 2012

Dems’ report: Fast & Furious not the only ‘misguided’ probe

The ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday said "misguided gunwalking operations" that began in 2006 in Arizona failed to include sufficient operational controls to stop dangerous weapons from getting into the hands of violent criminals, creating a danger to public safety on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Published January 31, 2012

Suspect in Ariz. sheriff death threat in custody

A 33-year-old Phoenix man is being held by sheriff's deputies in Phoenix in connection with an Internet death threat against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for his ongoing investigation into the legitimacy of President Obama’s birth certificate. Published January 27, 2012

Issa wants key ‘Fast and Furious’ figure to testify

The chairman of a House committee investigating the failed "Fast and Furious" gunrunning operation demanded Thursday that the Justice Department make a second key federal prosecutor in Arizona available for questioning about "his role in and knowledge of" the controversial probe. Published January 26, 2012

Emergency communications remain inadequate

In the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, the government committed more than $350 million to replace thousands of outdated and often obsolete radios used by federal law enforcement authorities, but the costly decade-long effort has yet to achieve its intended results and its success is doubtful, a report says. Published January 24, 2012

Ex-CIA officer charged in leak case

A former CIA officer was charged Monday in federal court with leaking classified information to the media about two other CIA officers, including disclosing the name and contact information of one involved in the capture of al Qaeda terrorist Abu Zubaydah. Published January 23, 2012

Ariz. prosecutor asserts Fifth in ‘Fast and Furious’ probe

The chief of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona cited his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination in refusing Friday to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in its ongoing investigation into the failed "Fast and Furious" gunrunning operation. Published January 20, 2012

Latin Kings gang boss gets 60-year prison sentence

The boss of the Chicago-based Latin Kings street gang was sentenced Thursday to 60 years in prison following his conviction last year on federal charges of racketeering and drug trafficking, in which he used murder, attempted murder, assault and extortion to protect his turf. Published January 12, 2012

Texas coalition sees mixed results on spending on border security

A coalition of Texas border mayors, county executives and economic development leaders said on Thursday the federal government has spent nearly $90 billion over the past decade to secure the Southwest border with no better than mixed results. Published January 12, 2012

Prosecutors will ask for unsealing of files in gun-walking case

Prosecutors who asked a federal court to seal the records in the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent as part of their investigation into the "Fast and Furious" operation now say they will ask that some of the documents be made public - more than a year after the shooting death. Published January 11, 2012

Maryland man gets 3 years in export case

A Pakistani national was sentenced Friday in federal court in Baltimore to three years in prison for conspiring to commit export violations and to defraud the United States in a scheme to export nuclear-related materials to Pakistan. Published January 9, 2012

Sheriff Arpaio announces re-election bid in Arizona

Most people know him simply as "Sheriff Joe" - the self-proclaimed toughest lawman in the United States. And, apparently, the five-term boss of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Phoenix wants another four years Published January 5, 2012

Holder facing further ‘Fast and Furious’ grilling

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. will testify again before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on the Justice Department's response to the controversial "Fast and Furious" weapons investigations in which hundreds of guns were "walked" to drug smugglers in Mexico. Published January 4, 2012

Justice Department: Arizona Sheriff Arpaio violated federal law

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the self-proclaimed "America's toughest lawman," was accused Thursday in a scathing Justice Department report of violating federal law and the Constitution in his department's handling of Hispanics it arrested and held in its jail system. Published December 15, 2011