back to article Feds cuffed for allegedly PILFERING Silk Road drug souk's Bitcoins

The US Department of Justice has accused two federal agents of stealing more than a million dollars in Bitcoins during the Silk Road investigation. Former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Carl Force and former Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges have been charged with theft of government property; wire fraud; money …

  1. The Nazz

    Call me a cynic if you wish

    But i'd wager someone at the NSA will have shedloads of 'em.

  2. oldtaku Silver badge

    What a name

    I'd like to note that even by American standards 'Carl Mark Force IV' is quite the outre name. Up there with Wolf Blitzer.

    1. phuzz Silver badge

      Re: What a name

      With a name like that, do you even have a choice but to become a bent DEA agent?

      Perhaps Carl Force III decided that his son could damn well put up with the crappy name he'd had his entire life?

  3. Mike 16

    Death from Above

    Now he's in it. Warner sued one of the "rogue Atari VCS programmers" for theft of IP, having found notes on a game called "Death From Above". Seems that programmer used that name as a working title on many (most?) of his games.

    Warner lost, IIRC, but it is not wise to poke the Entertainment-Industrial complex.

  4. E 2

    Drug eh eh eheheheh heeheehee cough cough Agency.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Drug eh eh eheheheh heeheehee cough cough Agency."

      Wasn't there a case where a US vice agency was running a drug operation that was intended to be an undercover honey-trap - but which became a genuine major supplier of narcotics? Ditto another US vice agency and kiddie-pr0n?

      In cases like this one is reminded of "Red Dragon" and "The Silence of the Lambs" stories/films where the federal agent has the same predilection as the Hannibal Lecter character.

      It appears not unusual that people who have a zealous crusade against some human "immoral" activity - are hiding their own predilection for that same activity.

  5. Mark 85

    Appeal?

    I'm sure there's some sort of an appeal DPR's attorney(s) are working with this revelation. Possibly tainted evidence? Credibility of the investigators? If they file, it should be entertaining.

    OTOH, what kind of idiot steals almost a million and then hangs around the crime scene?

  6. Mephistro
    Unhappy

    These two were dumb&corrupt feds

    Makes one wonder what the clever ones are getting away with.

    1. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: These two were dumb&corrupt feds

      No need to wonder. The entire US "War on Drugs" was NEVER about preventing drug abuse, but to make sure the money went to the "right" people.

      In fact, the entire "justice" system in the US is about payola, not justice.

  7. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

    There is nothign wrong with the government collecting all our personal data

    Because government agents are both incorruptible and subject to adequate oversight

  8. Mitoo Bobsworth
    Happy

    "Force worked undercover as "Nob,"

    & I'll bet he's feeling like a right one, 'n all!

  9. Winkypop Silver badge
    Unhappy

    Will there be a jury trial?

    I'd hate to try and follow all that as a Juror.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Will there be a jury trial?

      Nah, these guys know the game is rigged. Also, considering public opinion of cops these days, they're practically guaranteed a conviction on all counts. Et tu...

  10. Bob Wheeler

    Gone are the days..

    .. when the cops nicked a villain and stuffed their pockets with wads of £20 notes.

    1. phuzz Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: Gone are the days..

      Ironically, cash money might have been harder to trace than the bitcoins turned out to be.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Gone are the days..

      "[...] stuffed their pockets with wads of £20 notes."

      ...or nicked an innocent person at a demo and stuffed a brick in their pocket to be retrieved as "evidence" later.

      In the UK case they didn't actually put a half-brick in the person's pocket - it was merely logged in evidence as having been found in his pocket. A defence forensic expert proved that the pockets had never had the brick in them.

  11. Turtle

    Pretty simple.

    It's very very simple: these guys need to be in prison for the rest of their lives. Corruption, especially in law enforcement agencies, needs to be punished so severely that there would be no inducements or advantages that would justify risking the possible penalty.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Men steal imaginary money!

    Get arrested and sent to imaginary prison!

    News at 10

  13. Andy Christ

    "Force quit..."

  14. Identity
    Trollface

    Hmph!

    I don't see the problem here. St. Ronnie Reagan told us the Government is our enemy and we should all be entrepreneurs...

  15. BornToWin

    As ye sow

    So shall ye reap and go to prison.

  16. Clive Galway
    Stop

    Do you guys even proofread?

    Two typos in the first two sentences.

    "guilty guilty", "Mx Gox"

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