Pubdate: Thu, 06 Jun 2013
Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Copyright: 2013 The Arizona Republic
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
Authors: JJ Hensley and Dan Nowicki
Page: A1

CASE BUILT ON INFORMER FALLS APART

The concerns with federal drug informant Andrew Chambers Jr. have
existed for years. They have been the subject of national TV news
programs, newspapers around the country chronicled his activities, and
a report from the Drug Enforcement Administration documented his lies
and betrayals.

Those concerns did not discourage federal agents in Phoenix from using
Chambers as an informant in a heroin-smuggling case in which DEA
investigators labeled him as reliable.

But federal prosecutors on Tuesday asked a federal judge to dismiss
the charges against Luis Hernandez-Flores and Saul Sandoval, accused
of smuggling in a case in which Chambers was the key informant. The
motion was filed at 6:16 p.m. Tuesday just hours before The Arizona
Republic published a story on the DEA's use of Chambers on the front
page and on azcentral.com.

The dismissal does not detail what information was recently discovered
that led to the move, and federal authorities declined to discuss it
Wednesday.

The DEA indefinitely deactivated Chambers as an informant in 2000,
following extensive coverage and an internal investigation that raised
questions about his work for the agency. The DEA quietly reinstated
Chambers as an informant in 2008.

The Republic's story Wednesday caught the attention of watchdog
groups, who were aware of Chambers' history of giving false testimony
in federal drug cases and his alleged non-payment of taxes on the
millions of dollars the federal government paid him through the years.
But the move to dismiss the case has prompted at least one member of
the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the DEA,
to raise the issue of a federal investigation into the decision to use
Chambers in the first place.

Sen. Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary
Committee, on Wednesday called the DEA's use of Chambers "concerning"
and suggested that the agency's inspector general look into the matter.

"Using criminals to catch criminals is a dangerous game, but one that
is at times required," Grassley, R-Iowa, told The Republic in an
e-mailed statement. "The federal government must take the utmost care
and consideration when using informants. Too often the agencies
operate in silos and fail to talk to their counterparts at the
federal, state and local levels. Reactivating an informant with such a
troubled history is concerning, and something the Inspector General
should look into."

A spokesperson for Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, who also sits on the
Senate Judiciary Committee, declined to comment until Flake gets more
information on the case.

The defense attorney for Hernandez-Flores last month filed a motion to
dismiss the case against his client, arguing Chambers' testimony as an
informant could not be trusted. The motion detailed information about
Chambers over the years.

Some of those issues came up last week in federal court, said Brian
Russo, a defense attorney representing Sandoval.

Russo said the federal prosecutor assigned to the case, Karen
McDonald, expressed her concerns at a hearing after she conducted a
briefing with Chambers in preparation for the trial set for later this
summer.

Chambers' alleged failure to pay taxes was among the issues McDonald
raised in court, Russo said. "She told the judge on the record that
she had debriefed him, and new information came up, specifically these
unpaid taxes, that she felt obligated to disclose," Russo said.

The only thing surprising about the government's move to dismiss the
case was the timing, Russo said.

"Karen had discussed her desire to have a meeting with her bosses and
push toward this, so it's not totally unexpected," Russo said.

A spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration declined to
comment because U.S. District Judge Stephen McNamee has not yet signed
the government's motion to dismiss the case.

There is no indication that the agency would elaborate on the decision
to reinstate Chambers as a paid informant if the order is signed.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix declined to
comment on the decision to drop the smuggling case, but said federal
prosecutors still plan to respond to the defense's motion to dismiss
despite filing the very same motion on Tuesday.

"We still intend to file that response," said Cosme Lopez, a spokesman
for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona.

If the judge grants the motion to dismiss, it would mark the second
time that a case involving Hernandez-Flores fell apart. He was among
43 people named in a 2010 indictment in Maricopa County Superior Court
where Hernandez-Flores was charged with dozens of drug-related counts.
A judge ruled that a police officer working with the DEA provided
misleading statements in order to get a wiretap, and the related
evidence was thrown out, forcing prosecutors to dismiss the case.

Hernandez-Flores walked out of jail in June 2011. One month later,
Chambers paid a visit to the suspect in southwest Phoenix, launching
the second investigation.

Russo said that given the amount of money the government has spent to
bring a case that relied on a questionable informant, someone should
answer for the decision to employ Chambers.

"Somebody at the DEA obviously should be held accountable," he said.
"Taxpayer dollars are spent on these prosecutions, and now they have
to just throw it out."
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MAP posted-by: Matt