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Federal agents mum about show of force in Kelso Kelso police joined about 10 heavily armed agents from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Park Service in a mysterious raid of a South Kelso residence early Tuesday. Agents on the scene referred questions to U.S. district attorneys, who declined to reveal any information about the action. The residence in question, 1100 Elm Street, is owned by James and Jeannette Stacey of Kalama. Reached by phone Tuesday, Jeannette Stacey confirmed that her daughter and son-in-law Tina and David Wixon live at that address. Asked what may have motivated the raid, Jeannette Stacey said "coyote pelts." "My husband and David are both predator hunters. They hunt coyotes," Stacey said. "It's legal, totally legal. I know for a fact they haven't been hunting at all this year." The Wixons could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Agents on the scene wore "Police U.S. Agent" jackets, bulletproof vests and carried handguns and rifles. Six sport utility vehicles, some unmarked, some marked "Ranger," surrounded the house....
Mafia girlfriend cross-examined in trial of ex-FBI agent A mobster's girlfriend who has emerged as the star witness in the corruption case against a former FBI agent faced a barrage of questions on Tuesday suggesting she concocted the sensational allegations for profit. Linda Schiro, 62, faced cross-examination in the trial of R. Lindley DeVecchio, who is charged with four counts of murder in what authorities have called one of the worst law enforcement corruption cases in U.S. history. Prosecutors say Schiro's mobster boyfriend-turned informant, Gregory Scarpa, plied DeVecchio with cash, jewelry, liquor and prostitutes in exchange for confidential information he used to rub out suspected rats and rivals in the late 1980s and early '90s. Scarpa died behind bars in 1994. Schiro testified that she was present whenever the Colombo crime family capo met with DeVecchio, his official FBI handler, on a weekly basis for more than a decade....
Software Glitches Put Virtual Border Fence Months Behind Schedule Efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to establish a 28-mile digital fence along the U.S. border with Mexico are four months behind schedule, according to a report released last week by the Government Accountability Office. Project 28, a $20 million project to secure 28 miles of the Arizona border with radar, sensors, computers and other technology, has fallen four months behind schedule due to software problems, according to the report. Project 28 is the first of several programs aimed at electronic surveillance. Project 28 is part of SBInet, a $7.6 billion, five-year Secure Border Initiative program aimed at developing a border protection system that mixes security infrastructure, including 570 miles of pedestrian and vehicle fences, with technology-based measures such as radar, cameras, and computers. The GAO report blames the government contractor, Boeing, for the delays, saying while the company delivered and deployed the project's hardware components on schedule, "the delays are primarily attributed to software integration problems - such as long delays in radar information being displayed in command centers."....