undercover

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3 Decades Ago, a Reporter Posed as a High School Senior

Today, she's not sure her monthlong ruse for the 'San Francisco Chronicle' was ethical

(Newser) - Thirty-two years ago, a 26-year-old reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle posed as a high school student for a month to get an inside look at how students and teachers were coping with severe budget cuts. Only the principal and guidance counselor at George Washington High School, along with the...

After Years Undercover Among Neo-Nazis, He Is 'Haunted'

'Rolling Stone' profiles a retired FBI specialist

(Newser) - The retired FBI agent profiled in Rolling Stone is identified only as Scott B, for good reason: He spent 25 years undercover, infiltrating biker gangs and the like before moving to the agency's domestic terrorism division. That's when he started posing as a white supremacist to infiltrate gangs...

Lucky Lotto Ticket Not So Lucky for This Florida Clerk

She allegedly gave undercover agent just $5 as his winnings, kept winning ticket for herself

(Newser) - A lucky lottery ticket turned out to be not so lucky for a Florida store clerk, who's accused of stealing it from a "customer." The reason "customer" is in quotes is because, per the Miami Herald , he was actually an undercover agent for the Florida Lottery...

Surprising Sting Leads to Somali Pirate Chief Arrest

Believed he was flying to Belgium to make a movie about his life

(Newser) - The kingpin of one of Somalia's most successful pirate gangs has been arrested, after undercover Belgian agents pulled the old "you should fly to Europe so we can make a movie about your life" trick. Mohamed Abdi Hassan—also known as "Afweyne" and "Big Mouth"—...

BBC Blasted for Covert Reporting Trip to N. Korea

London School of Economics irate journos traveled with students

(Newser) - On the heels of a child abuse scandal , the BBC finds itself embroiled in another controversy—this time over covert reporting in North Korea. The London School of Economics says the media organization "deliberately misled" and endangered 10 of its students during a trip to the country that included...

FBI Agent Spent Thousands on Brothels: Court Filing

He allegedly spent $1.6K on single night in club that hires underage girls

(Newser) - An undercover FBI agent spent "thousands of dollars" on brothels and clubs frequented by prostitutes, including places that hired underage girls, a lawyer charged in court documents yesterday. The agent was reimbursed $14,500 for entertainment, cocktails, and tips over a period of less than a year in 2010...

Undercover Cops Infiltrated Occupy LA Before Raid

About a dozen mingled among protesters to look for potential trouble

(Newser) - The Los Angeles police had nearly a dozen undercover officers mixed in with the Occupy LA protesters in the weeks before Wednesday's pre-dawn raid, gathering information about stashed weapons or other potential problems, reports the LA Times . (Confirming a story in City News Service.) None of the undercover...

Feds Head Off Bombing Plots in Dallas, Illinois

Cases unrelated to each other; no link to Denver, NY terror arrests

(Newser) - A Jordanian citizen arrested in an elaborate FBI sting is to be arraigned today on charges of attempting to blow up a Dallas skyscraper. The court appearance comes a day after an Illinois man was charged with plotting to detonate a bomb near a Springfield courthouse, only to learn that...

Undercover Texas Cops Sting Dog-Fighting Ring

(Newser) - A pair of Houston cops recently put away nearly 100 dog fighters, but to do so they had to become “dogmen” themselves. Texas Monthly recounts the undercover sting and provides a look at the brutal sport. The cops were reluctant at first—“we just figured it was piddly...

Douglas Son Busted for Meth
 Douglas Son Busted for Meth 
Aug 4, 2009 3:15 AM CDT

Douglas Son Busted for Meth

(Newser) - Michael Douglas' son has been arrested on suspicion of possessing a large amount of crystal meth with intention to sell, authorities told the New York Post. Cameron Douglas, 30, was busted last week at a Manhattan hotel in an undercover operation that allegedly nailed him with some $18,000 worth...

Judge: CIA Used Fraud to Get Wiretap Case Dismissed

Orders Tenet to explain misleading actions on wiretap suit

(Newser) - US District Judge Royce Lamberth released hundreds of secret filings yesterday, saying the CIA falsely claimed that state secrets were involved in a 15-year-old wiretapping lawsuit, McClatchy reports. The agency allowed the judge to continue believing that an agent involved in the case was undercover, when in reality that cover...

Covert Journos 'Bribe' Way Into Queen's Palace

News of the World reporters ushered in sans security check

(Newser) - In an exposé operation, undercover reporters were allowed into “sensitive” sections of Buckingham Palace, the BBC reports. The News of the World journalists reportedly paid a chauffeur at the palace $1,600 for a tour; dressed as Middle Eastern businessmen, they were ushered in without security checks and one...

UK Dad Tries to Hire Prostitute for 14-Year-Old

Man snagged in police sting draws 10-month suspended sentence

(Newser) - A UK man who confessed to trying to pick up a prostitute for his teenage son has been sentenced to 10 months in prison but won't serve time, the Daily Mail reports. The 42-year-old visited Nottingham's red-light district last year on a quest to help his son, 14,  lose...

Judge Blasts Juror-Seducing Mom

Undercover recordings outing juror won't vacate murder trial verdict

(Newser) - A judge has put a halt to efforts by a convicted murderer to have his verdict vacated—because the man's mom acted as a "vigilante" when she flirted with a juror in an attempt to get information out of him, the New York Times reports. After plying Juror...

Mom Hatches Sexy Plan to Free Convicted Son

46-year-old woos juror into confession

(Newser) - A Brooklyn mother's bid to have her son's murder conviction overturned reads like a Hollywood script. The married 46-year-old got a makeover, hit the gym, rented an apartment under an alias, then strutted around a juror's neighborhood in six-inch heels and a push-up bra. She taped their flirtatious encounters and...

Sharpton: Bell Verdict 'Abortion of Justice'

Feds will look into civil-rights charges against NYPD officers

(Newser) - Rev. Al Sharpton blasted today's acquittal of three NYPD officers who killed an unarmed man in a 50-slug fusillade in 2006, CNN reports. "Justice didn't miscarry," Sharpton said. "This was an abortion of justice. Justice was aborted." Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged citizens to respect the “...

CIA Lost a Fortune on Failed Terror Traps

Bogus firms failed to provide effective cover for overseas spies

(Newser) - CIA officials lost a bundle after 9/11 setting up fake businesses to ensnare suspected terrorists in a strategy it now concedes was ill-conceived, reports the Los Angeles Times. The agency spent hundreds of millions of dollars to establish 12 enterprises in Europe and elsewhere to provide a convincing cover for...

17 Stories