At least that's one conclusion that could be drawn from the treatment of an undercover Customs agent who was suspected of being on the take in Houston.

The agent in question was one of the primary targets of an Internal Affairs corruption probe in the 1990s that focused on an undercover unit called the Currency Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET), which conducts stings on money-laundering schemes perpetrated by drug-cartel operatives.

The CNET unit is self-funding, Customs sources explain. Drug money obtained as part of sting operations is deposited in a bank, a percentage taken by the government, and the balance wired to
designated overseas accounts that are controlled by drug traffickers. The goal is to follow the money trail and ultimately nab the kingpins.

The investigation into CNET was launched after allegations surfaced that some members of the unit were possibly skimming money off the operation and playing fast and loose with the rules -- such as running up exorbitant cell-phone and vehicle-related expenses.

The agent allegedly at the center of the dirty dealings was never charged with a crime as part of that Internal Affairs investigation. However, Mark Conrad, former Resident Agent in Charge of Customs' Internal Affairs office in Houston, claims that the investigation was thwarted by bureaucratic foot-dragging at headquarters.

"Whatever investigation was done ultimately would never be fruitful because of (the overzealous) oversight from headquarters," alleges Conrad, who supervised the Internal Affairs investigation of CNET.

The Houston CNET unit, which includes Customs agents and local law-enforcement officials, is overseen by Customs investigative arm, which is now part of DHS.

Dean Boyd, a spokesman for DHS, takes issue with the claim that the Internal Affairs investigation into the CNET unit was undermined by headquarters. He also stresses that CNET was a very successful undercover operation in the 1990s and "continues to be very successful."

"If someone is of the opinion that the investigation (into CNET in the 1990s) was hampered or railroaded, we invite that person to bring forth hard evidence as proof," Boyd says.

However, law-enforcement sources who are critical of CNET's past operations point out that, by coincidence, the same agent who was a primary suspect in the Internal Affairs probe in the 1990s also served as an undercover agent in a botched undercover operation in 2000 that cost the government in excess of $600,000.

As part of that sting, a series of third-party checks linked to drug trafficking were taken in by CNET agents from a South American money launderer. The checks were then deposited in an undercover account in a Texas bank.

However, after the sting was played out, the checks started bouncing. In the end, the government was stuck with the bill to cover the bad paper, sources familiar with CNET contend.

The loss of the proceeds was characterized by a Customs insider as "sheer stupidity," but no criminal charges were brought against anyone.

Boyd claims the incident was thoroughly investigated, adding that to "characterize it as 'sheer stupidity' or in any way criminally negligent is simply inaccurate."

"It was a learning experience for (those involved), but there was no finding of any criminal or administrative wrongdoing," Boyd stresses.

That may well be true. But how long would you last in your job if you made a half-million dollar mistake?

The Houston agent at the center of the CNET controversies was not fired, but rather later promoted to a supervisory position with a DHS-sponsored task force called Green Quest, which was established in October 2001 and charged with thwarting money-laundering schemes used by terrorist groups.

The promotion of the Houston agent stands in sharp contrast to the fate of another Customs agent based in Arizona. That agent claims he was pulled off a sensitive counter-terrorism task force about a month after the Sept. 11 terror attacks -- despite the fact that the task force was in the midst of a major investigation related to the 9/11 tragedy.

Customs claims that the Arizona agent, who has a half-dozen years of counter-terrorism experience, was removed from the FBI-led task force because he violated procedures -- a claim the agent's attorney, Jeffrey Arbetman, says is unfounded.

"Customs claims he (the agent) broke some rules, but we have documentation and testimony that shows that is not true, including testimony from the FBI," says Arbetman, who is a former federal prosecutor.

The real reason he was yanked off the task force, Arbetman claims, is that the agent's supervisors were retaliating against him for filing an age discrimination complaint.

"Whatever Customs' agenda was, the fact is that they took (this agent) off a critical counter-terrorism task force at a crucial time in this country's history," Arbetman adds. "It was wrong morally and legally."

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that those considerations play a pivotal role in some governmental decision-making in the current atmosphere of hyper-patriotism. Until that mood changes, it might be wise to stay clear of high-rise buildings in the states.

(For exclusive news coverage of this issue, see the following Web link,  http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2003/05/12/story1.html)

Bill Conroy ( Wkc6428@aol.com), a former investigative reporter for the Shepherd-Express in Milwaukee, is currently the editor of the San Antonio Business Journal. The opinions expressed in this article are those of its author and do not necessarily represent the views of the San Antonio Business Journal or its parent company.