Its intelligence division was not able to provide the IG’s office an itemized list of total payments to confidential sources. The DEA presumably is better at rousting drug dealers than it is at record-keeping. Thus, steps have been taken to mitigate identified risks.” “However, DEA recognizes the inherent risk involved when relying on persons whose motivations can be suspect. They “provide invaluable contributions and assistance to DEA investigations,” he told the IG in a response printed in the report. Stanfill, a DEA deputy chief inspector, defended the use of confidential informants. The IG report demonstrates the routine use of paid informants without these basic safeguards.”īill Piper, a senior director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for liberal drug policies, agreed, saying, “Paying informants creates incentives to lie or fabricate evidence.” If the DEA and other law enforcement agencies insist on relying on such questionable testimony, its use should be rare and the payments well documented and fully disclosed.

The credibility of paid informants is always suspect. “If a defendant paid a fact witness, he would be charged with committing obstruction of justice, a federal felony. “The government should not sponsor testimony from paid informants,” said National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers President Barry J. The report by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (IG) found serious deficiencies with the DEA’s confidential-source program, including poor oversight that “exposes the DEA to an unacceptably increased potential for waste, fraud, and abuse,” IG Michael Horowitz said.Įxperts who represent people who could be the target of confidential informants question their use even under the best of circumstances. Of course, there’s the danger of earning the enmity of drug gangs, but apparently some think it’s worth the risk. – An airline employee over $600,000 in less than four years, more than $150,000 a year. – A parcel worker more than $1 million over five years, or $200,000 a year. – Nine people $25 million during a five-year period, averaging $555,555 annually, for narcotics-related information and assisting law enforcement. – One source $30 million over a 30-year period, “some of it in cash payments of more than $400,000.” Turns out some get paid, too, sometimes very, very well.Ĭonsider this from a new report on major problems with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s confidential-informant program.

WASHINGTON – There’s an unfortunate saying on the street: Snitches get stitches.

Dea informant