Our law enforcement teams are getting THAT bad

Federal Judge Blasts ATF For Luring Man With No Criminal Record Into Trafficking Cocaine (Clik here to read more)

By Nicole Flatow July 18, 2014 at 9:00 am Updated: July 18, 2014 at 9:24 am
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An undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) infiltrated Jeremy Halgat's life for three years before he lured him into drug crimes "designed and engineered by the government." He had Halgat's home searched and found nothing. He tried to get Halgat to buy illegal guns and Halgat recited federal gun law. Finally, after many rejected requests and a heavy hand by the agent, ATF Task Force Officer Agostino Brancato got Halgat to play a role in a cocaine sale, in pleas that exploited their false friendship, and Brancato's false claims of monetary desperation.
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A federal magistrate judge recommended this week that criminal charges against Halgat carrying a term of up to 20 years in prison be dismissed.
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"[T]he government's investigation deployed techniques that generated a wholly new crime for the sake of pressing criminal charges against Halgat," Judge Cam Ferenbach wrote.
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Brancato was investigating Halgat because he was in a suspected motorcycle gang that was the target of a mission known as "Operation Pure Luck." But Halgat had no criminal record and appeared committed to abiding by the law. Although he was an occasional cocaine user, he stated many times that he had long ago disavowed cocaine trafficking. When Brancato repeatedly asked him over the course of five weeks to buy cocaine, invoking language that they were "familia" and monetary desperation, Halgat repeatedly refused, stating that "I had a wakeup call one day" and on another occasion, "I can't fucking help. I can't help."