Officials downplay talk of rift between fed agencies

For weeks I’ve heard some senior members of federal law enforcement were having difficulty getting cases embraced by the U.S. Attorney’s office criminal division.

It’s nothing new. Those who listen closely will hear all kinds of criticism fired back and forth between the agencies. But the talk recently reached a level I thought deserved checking out. So I started making phone calls. And more phone calls. And even more phone calls.

Trouble is, in all the calls I’ve made no top officials concur with the shadowed criticism coming from senior investigators and agents.

At ATF, Resident Agent in Charge Thomas Chittum made it clear he was a fan of the federal prosecutors and had no beef with Criminal Division supervisor Russ Marsh.

“I have a good relationship with Russ,” Chittum said. “I don’t think it’s something that I could comment on. That’s not a story I would join in.”

Fair enough.

Over at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Special Agent in Charge Michael Flanagan is set to retire later this spring after 34 years. In other words, he has nothing to lose from letting it all hang out. (And Flanagan is known for his outspokenness in a tight-lipped fraternity.)

“I deal mostly directly with (U.S. Attorney) Dan Bogden,” Flanagan said. “Since Dan has come back with regard to DEA, our prosecutions are basically off the charts. I don’t know what it’s like for the other agencies, but I can tell you that with Dan I would have to say just the opposite. That the relationship has gotten even better. Prosecutions have increased 10-fold.”

Flanagan also said there’s no truth to the rumor – no matter how well I’ve sourced it – that his office at times has been so frustrated it has shopped cases away from the U.S. Attorney.

Flanagan only added that his office also works closely with Clark County District Attorney David Roger.

“I wouldn’t say we shopped because we don’t,” he said. “That would be the wrong phrase. That would definitely be wrong. We use both offices depending on the type of case. We have a great relationship between the three of us. I probably bring the most to the table here. I bring a lot of cases. I use both systems, the state and the federal system, depending on how the case is core dated and orchestrated.”

So, then, there’s nothing to all the talk of problems within the ranks?