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FBI Wiretaps Canceled for Non-Payment

Posted by timothy on from the in-united-states-bills-collect-you dept.

grassy_knoll writes "Apparently, the FBI hasn't been paying the telcos for the wiretaps they've initiated, so the telcos have canceled the wiretaps. From the AP article linked: 'Telephone companies have cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureau's repeated failures to pay phone bills on time. A Justice Department audit released Thursday blamed the lost connections on the FBI's lax oversight of money used in undercover investigations. Poor supervision of the program also allowed one agent to steal $25,000, the audit said. In at least one case, a wiretap used in a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act investigation "was halted due to untimely payment," the audit found.'"

15 of 166 comments (clear)

  1. Let's get this out of the way by smooth+wombat · · Score: 4, Funny

    Nelson Muntz: Ha Ha!

    There, it's been said. Let's move on.

    --
    We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    1. Re:Let's get this out of the way by Jonesy69 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I see your "ha ha"

      And raise you a "ha ha Fuckers!"

      --
      Bought the ticket, taking the ride.
  2. Oval Office Scene.... by mudetroit · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dick Cheney walks into the Oval Office... "George Herbert Walker Bush! Do you see this phone bill! I guess we are just going to have to turn it off until you can afford to pay it yourself."

    1. Re:Oval Office Scene.... by parkrrrr · · Score: 5, Funny

      "George Herbert Walker Bush is my dad, you old coot!"

    2. Re:Oval Office Scene.... by LifesABeach · · Score: 2, Funny

      Reporters tried to contact the Office of the F.B.I but the line was disconnected, and there was no new number.

  3. In other news... by LibertineR · · Score: 2, Funny
    Without explanation, Telco Accounts-Receivable departments nationwide switch en-masse to VoIP.

    Film at 11.

  4. Apparently... by uxbn_kuribo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Invading our privacy and violating the Constitution isn't nearly as profitable as one would think.

    --
    No portion of this post may be rebroadcast without the express, written consent of Major League Baseball.
  5. Recommendations by Sciros · · Score: 4, Funny
    From TFA:

    Fine's report offered 16 recommendations to improve the FBI's tracking and management of the funding system, including its telecommunication costs. The FBI has agreed to follow 11 of the suggestions but said that four "would be either unfeasible or too cost prohibitive." The recommendations were not specifically outlined in the edited version of the report. 11+4 = 15. HOLY CRAP just how bad IS the FBI at tracking numbers?? There's a whole recommendation missing there. It's probably the one that says "don't freaking steal thousands of dollars for personal use."
    --
    I like basketball!!1!
    1. Re:Recommendations by stranger_to_himself · · Score: 5, Funny

      '16. Do not follow this recommendation'.

    2. Re:Recommendations by Translation+Error · · Score: 2, Funny

      '16. This is the famous recursive recommendation. (See recommendation 16)'

      --
      When someone says, "Any fool can see ..." they're usually exactly right.
  6. Heh, by Jefan · · Score: 5, Funny

    Can you hear me now?

  7. Who's watching the watchers? by Dr.+Cody · · Score: 3, Funny

    The Jews.

  8. Capitalism at it's finest by bigtrike · · Score: 3, Funny

    How soon until we're required to use multiple carriers so the government can negotiate the lowest rate?

  9. Re:In Soviet Russia... by rodney+dill · · Score: 3, Funny

    In Soviet Russia wiretap cancels you.

    --

    Use your head, can't you, use your head,
    You're on earth, there's no cure for that     - S. Beckett
  10. Re:I wish I considered this good news by phoenixwade · · Score: 2, Funny

    The telecoms are certainly within their rights to refuse service for non-payment, but what kind of a dysfunctional organization can't even pay their phone-bill on time? If my company's phone service was terminated, heads would roll. Umm - maybe - I did a service call on a modem that wasn't functioning in a graphics department, about 12 years ago. The modem was fine, but the line it was connected to was dead.... After checking, the modem line had been disconnected for non-payment. It was just an over site. The only reason it stuck in my mind, was because of the company - it was Bell South, they'd cut themselves off... it was good for a laugh, still is, actually. Mistakes do happen, failure to pay a phone bill isn't dysfunctional.... There are OTHER reasons, however, to use that label. I don't blame the Law Enforcers (FBI). I blame the people they have to work under that cause those kinds of problems by issuing contradictory or confusing orders designed to do nothing more than promote the administrations objectives while covering their own assess. Another aspect of the wiretap thing comes to mind. If it's legal, the way the Administration maintained it was, why so much CYA now? Why does there need to be immunity granted for the past? I suspect, coming back onto the subject at hand, that the reason the payments weren't made, was that someone needed to find a way to pay for them without culpability i.e. If I write a check, do I get prosecuted for rights violations, since I'll be tied to that wiretap....
    --
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.