Posted on 12/27/2005 2:14:32 PM PST by CedarDave
Thieves who stole 400 pounds of explosives from a location west of Albuquerque also apparently took a Wells Cargo trailer used to store them and a truck to haul them, according to a papers unsealed in federal court this morning.
The advertised $50,000 reward led a confidential informant to a lawyer's office in Durango on Friday with information about the stolen items and the men who took them, an affidavit reveals.
But the documents failed to shed any light on how the thieves knew about the explosives or what they planned to do with them.
Information from a confidential source led to the arrests. The source, called CS-1, gave information to authorities via speaker phone after his attorney, Amos Soignier of Durango, contacted an emergency tip line, according to a criminal complaint.
ATF Agent Gary Ainsworth took a call from an attorney on Friday regarding the stolen explosives. The attorney told agents his client wanted anonymity out of fear for his safety, but said he had been at the home of Les Brown in Ignacio, Colo., on Thursday. The informant said he'd known Brown for about 3 months, and had seen Les, a former mechanic, doing work on his brother David's truck.
"(Les) Brown wanted work done on his brother David's vehicle because David was currently driving a stolen truck that was stolen at the same time and place as the explosives," the affidavit says.
Ainsworth determined from the informant's description that certain rare linear-shaped charges that hadn't been described to the press were among explosives he had seen.
The informant said Les Brown told him that he, his brother and two other persons had gone to New Mexico and had taken the explosives "from a fenced area out in the middle of nowhere."
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
No sh*t! I read that and said this confidential informant ain't confidental anymore. He'd better take the 50 g's and get into the witness protection program, pronto. These bad guys got a bunch of friends that would probably like to get even with him for ratting the boys out.
The informant said he'd known Brown for about 3 months, and had seen Les, a former mechanic, doing work on his brother David's truck
That was about as smmoth as Exlax! IMO of course!
Who the #$%(#!! released all this info? Anonymous tipsters are a VERY useful tool for law enforcement, and this irresponsible handling of confidential info will be a strong deterrent to anyone considering providing info in the future. With a gazillion terrorist cells operating in our country, do we really want to advertise to potential informants that info they provide which would make it easy for those being informed upon to identify the tipster, will be released to the media?
Seriously, if I was in charge of things, whoever released this identity-revealing info would be doing some serious prison time, and would get hit with the cost of providing 24/7 security to the informant for the next 20 years or so.
Somebody should fire the moron at the ATF who let out all this identifying information. The affadavit should have been under seal
And I shudder to think what their pals' arsenals are stocked with!
I don't think it's clear yet whether the ATF or the judge was responsible for the release, but I think somebody should find out forthwith, so that the appropriate party can be fired and then prosecuted in both criminal and civil proceedings.
It's sure nice to the MSM newspapers becoming subscription only. I was getting sick of having to read them. Now that they're starting to leave the Internet, perhaps we can get some of our alternative media to start taking off.
I hate that word
I've been to Ignacio; its a very small town. I'm sure everyone knows everyone.
I'm flat out dumbfounded that this informant has been identified by this article and now his life is in jeopardy because of it. I'd email the author of the article, Scott Sandlin, but I don't want to have to pay a subscriber fee to access this trash newspaper's site (The Albuquerque Journal).
Anyone got his email addy or phone #? We all need to bombard this idiot.
ssandlin@abqjournal.com Go for it.
Hey! Write the ATF/FBI or whatever agency released the info, not the Journal. I don't want the Journal investigating my confidential informant status on FR!!
Ahem, errr, uhhhh....for a small gratuity percentage of the 50K? And does the Journal's investigatory prowress intimidate you a lot? ;)
Thanks, I did. Here's what I just sent to the P.O.S.:
Scott,
My jaw hit the floor when reading your article, "Papers Show How Alleged Explosives Theives Were Caught", dated Tues, Dec 27th. I'm not sure how you attained the confidential information about the confidential informant, but you may as well be a hit man yourself.
Thanks to you, this informant (who is no longer confidential) probably has a bounty on his head! Obviously, you don't aspire to become a "professional journalist". And no, I'm not just picking on you. The fact that ATF Agent, Gary Ainsworth, revealed any names and details to anyone in the press is inexcusable. At the very least, he should be fired.
Way to go, Scott. With rats like you and Gary Ainsworth, who are only interested in your 15 minutes of fame, the lesson you both have taught whistleblowers, who can be invaluable tools in helping to fight crime, is to keep their mouths shut. Otherwise, punk journalists and rogue cop types will sell an informant's life and that of his family right down the nearest river if it means getting headlines.
Sign me disgusted,
_________
Proof again that if two people are gonna keep a secret one of em has to be dead !
Glad they caught these losers........Stay safe Dave !
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