An undercover FBI agent investigating weapon smuggling in the
Philippines spent thousands of taxpayer dollars at brothels and clubs
known to offer prostitution, including one that local authorities later
raided for hiring underage girls, according to court filings.
Federal prosecutors on the case conceded in court filings that the government reimbursed the agent for $14,500 for entertainment, cocktails and tips over a period of less than a year in 2010 and 2011 in relation to the case. The expenses included $1,600 on a night in September 2011 at a club known as Area 51 in Manila.
In May, Filipino authorities targeted Area 51 on suspicion of trafficking minor sex workers and discovered 19 underage girls at the club. In a press release, the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation said minors danced in full nudity and offered “sex services” for a fee.
A public defender representing the lead defendant in the weapon-smuggling case last week filed a motion asking a judge to dismiss the case based on “outrageous government misconduct,” citing the agent’s actions.
Based on a defense investigator's interviews with witnesses in the Philippines, attorney John Littrell alleged that the undercover agent paid for sex for himself as well as the suspects in the case.
Littrell alleged the agent took his client and others to the clubs to induce them to participate in a weapons-smuggling scheme.
Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/fbi-agent-outrageous-misconduct.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=649324
Federal prosecutors on the case conceded in court filings that the government reimbursed the agent for $14,500 for entertainment, cocktails and tips over a period of less than a year in 2010 and 2011 in relation to the case. The expenses included $1,600 on a night in September 2011 at a club known as Area 51 in Manila.
In May, Filipino authorities targeted Area 51 on suspicion of trafficking minor sex workers and discovered 19 underage girls at the club. In a press release, the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation said minors danced in full nudity and offered “sex services” for a fee.
A public defender representing the lead defendant in the weapon-smuggling case last week filed a motion asking a judge to dismiss the case based on “outrageous government misconduct,” citing the agent’s actions.
Based on a defense investigator's interviews with witnesses in the Philippines, attorney John Littrell alleged that the undercover agent paid for sex for himself as well as the suspects in the case.
Littrell alleged the agent took his client and others to the clubs to induce them to participate in a weapons-smuggling scheme.
Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/fbi-agent-outrageous-misconduct.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=649324
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