At the Drug Enforcement Administration in Chicago and across the U.S. there may be a feeling of insecurity after the primary umbrella agency that oversees task force investigations has been targeted for closure.
Memos now being delivered informing thousands of agents and supervisors that by September 30th the plug will be pulled on America’s law enforcement superstructure, that coordinates drug cartel cases, human trafficking prevention and organized crime matters.
Drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is in custody because of the intense investigative work coordinated by America’s organized crime drug enforcement task forces.
In Chicago, former DEA special agent in charge Jack Riley led a crusade to track and arrest Guzman.
“I think it’s a tremendous issue, unless there’s an alternative funding plan” Riley said on Wednesday.
He told NBC Chicago that the White House plan to scrap a 40-year old Reagan-era task force structure that links together prosecutors, police and intelligence agents will also interrupt a multi-billion dollar pipeline that funds local law enforcement programs by seizing drug cartel assets and sharing them with municipalities.
“If you look at what we did in Chicago, I mean, the Chicago strike force was started with that money. It pays overtime training for state and locals who are crucial to everything we do” Riley told NBC 5 Investigates.
The task force model, and much of the funding about to be turned off, has gone to officer training. Such programs are a key component of bringing down organized crime groups including drug cartels.
According to Riley, “there’s a whole section in DOJ (Dept. of Justice) that’s set up to monitor that, to disperse the money, and then the audit needs use. So, it would really halt the day-to-day operations. And you get the situation Chuck, where you have a smaller police department that doesn’t have the resources, they may be pulling their men and women out of federal task forces because they can’t foot the bill.”
And if that happens, then cartel kingpins such as El Chapo’s son, Ovidio, might never be captured.
On Wednesday, like his infamous father, Ovidio Guzman is in custody because of the task force work. Ovidio was flown to Chicago last year by authorities, where this new court filing tonight cites a guilty plea agreement has been struck with prosecutors, and a change of plea hearing set for early July.
It is a scenario that doesn’t surprise veteran lawman Riley.
“You know, really not. This is kind of their playbook. Stretch this out as long as it possibly can…”
Jack Riley is retired from DEA, but he still consults members of Congress on drug cartel and law enforcement issues. Riley said he hopes there is still time for some alternative funding and a plan to not lose momentum in U.S. cartel investigations.
Justice Department officials have said only that counter-narcotics efforts will continue, but offered no details on what that will look like or what will happen to the thousands of investigations currently underway.
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