Don't Drink the Water

Interesting case being prosecuted by the feds down here. Richard P. Cramer, former high-ranking federal agent has pleaded Not Guilty to drug trafficking charges that included accusations that he gave intelligence to Mexican cartel members.

According to the complaint, on a number of occasions Mr. Cramer used his position to search federal databases and a California state database to see if certain unidentified drug trafficking organization members were informants for American law enforcement.

A federal law enforcement officer for 26 years, Mr. Cramer was the head of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Nogales, Ariz., a busy drug and illegal immigrant trafficking spot, until 2004. Then he became the agency’s representative in Guadalajara, assigned to help track traffickers there, until he retired in 2007.

The government will have its hands full here, as Mr. Cramer is represented by Hector L. Flores, who has been a player in the federal defense bar for many years. Mr. Flores has a nice quote in today's New York Times, noting that Mr. Cramer is “a good man who has the support of his family and friends,” who “should not be a casualty of the chaos in Mexico.”

NB I've experienced a bit of chaos in Mexico myself. It usually starts with the "Centenario." Devil's water, that stuff.