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Site Claims to Reveal 'Tattle-tales'

Dekortage writes "Have you ever ratted somebody out? If it was a legal case, you might end up on Who's A Rat, an online database of police informants and undercover agents, identified through various publicly-available documents such as court briefings. The data-mined information is now available online at a price. As reported in the New York Times, 'The site says it has identified 4,300 informers and 400 undercover agents, many of them from documents obtained from court files available on the Internet.' Understandably, U.S. judges and law enforcement agents are upset, although defense lawyers seem to like the idea. Where do you draw the line between legal transparency and secrecy?"

5 of 565 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Undercover Agents? by thesolo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I mean do they not see the dangers in doing this? Or do they just not care?
    Based upon the fact that the person who started the site is awaiting trial for drug charges, I'm guessing the latter.

    Sean Bucci, a former Boston-area disc jockey, set up WhosaRat.com after federal prosecutors charged him with selling marijuana in bulk from his house. Bucci is under house arrest awaiting trial.
  2. Pretty interesting. by Mockylock · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I went to West Virginia University, and the other large University in the state was Marshall.

    When anyone would get busted in Marshall for any reason, they were given 2 choices.

    A. Go to Jail and pay the consequences.
    B. Go to WVU to school and continue your education on US, while working undercover.

    You would be surprised at how many times this happens. It also happened with people I knew (or thought I knew) when they were busted at WVU and sent to MU for "REHAB".

    Nonetheless, it's funny they're doing this, simply because if someone's a supposed "rat" and they're found out... you're more than likely not messing with the scene anymore. If you're honestly doing anything that has risk, your best bet is to just not meet new people and don't deal with people that wouldn't go down for you.

    In other words, you're going to get caught if you're stupid or deal with stupid people. When messing with drugs, you're usually messing with fucked up people. If you stay in long enough, those fucked-up people are going to get you caught.

    My suggestion is, if you MUST, just do drugs, don't sell them.

    ;)

    --
    "Please, shut up. Just when I think you can't say anything more stupid, you speak again." -Archie Bunker.
  3. Re:Sure, why not by Applekid · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If the police really wanted to turn those "No Snitch" movements around, they should go back to doing what they have written on their cars: To Protect and Serve.

    As opposed to racial profiling. As opposed to beating suspects mercilessly when they present no danger to the officer. As opposed to taking their sweet time to respond to inner-city disturbances while rushing to rich neighborhoods. As opposed to villifying teenagers that are just bored and want to hang out in a public place and not causing any trouble. As opposed to the "we are above the law" attitude that many many officers seem to have.

    I remember getting pulled over by an undercover detective for looking at him wrong. Quite literally. He parked his unmarked vehicle with illegally dark tints across two handicapped spaces at my local bank branch and some old lady had to park considerably farther. As I left the ATM I saw him getting into his vehicle and I saw this poor thing with the appropriate handicapped tag in no more complicated than a nightgown struggling with her walker.

    I stared at him nastily. I wanted him to feel the shame that others were judging him. Obviously I rubbed him the wrong way since I drove off maybe three blocks before this guy turned on ol' red and blues mounted on his dashboard. I was pulled over and given a lecture about how HE was keeping me safe.

    Pro tip: in those situations, the only thing you should do is "Yes, officer" lest you get tazered.

    Hell, I live in South Florida... NBC did a story on filing complaints to police stations. Most of the stations just wanted a verbal report and wouldn't provide him with the anonymous forms required under law. To top it all off, when the report got on the air, the investigator had a BOLO notice posted! "Fuck da police" isn't just because we're rebellious: it's because so many DO WRONG.

    Questioning witnesses for murders is movie-time. Law and Order on CBS time. It happens, but it's not so prevalent that doors are being knocked on day in and out to find out where they were on August the 11th at 3:19am.

    If the police stopped intentionally being antagonists to the citizenry maybe we'd cooperate more.

    --
    More Twoson than Cupertino
  4. Re:Who is a rat??? by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It looks like that North Reading MA address is no longer valid:

    "Among other things, the jury returned a general forfeiture judgment of $2.7 million against BUCCI, and judgments of forfeiture of his house at 23 Marshall Street in North Reading, a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche SUV, a boat, and $35,000 in a bank account."

    --
    It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  5. Re:They deserve to be outed by Hatta · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Laws are made by men, men are sometimes unjust. As St. Augustine said, "An unjust law is no law at all".

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    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!