A Web Site That Snitches On Snitches

(CBS)  The Skinny is Joel Roberts' take on the top news of the day and the best of the Internet.

---

New Web sites devoted to exposing the identities of informants who cooperate with the government are making federal prosecutors furious and prompting calls to limit public access to electronic court files.

According to The New York Times, the sites, like one called whosarat.com, post the names and mug shots of government witnesses, along with court documents outlining the plea agreements they made in return for more lenient sentences. Much of the data is obtained from files readily available on the Internet.

Last week, for example, whosarat.com posted information about a Florida man who agreed to plead guilty to cocaine possession but not gun charges in exchange for working in an undercover role to contact and negotiate with drug dealers.

Whosarat.com says it has identified 4,300 informants and 400 undercover agents since 2004. The site was started by a man named Sean Bucci, who was indicted in federal court on marijuana charges after an informant provided information to prosecutors.

The Times says the site was "initially modest and free, the seeming product of a drug defendant's fit of pique." It now charges between $7.99 for a week's access to $89.99 for a lifetime membership, which includes a free "Stop Snitching" T-shirt.

A Justice Department official, in a letter quoted by the Times, said these sites were set up "for the clear purpose of witness intimidation, retaliation and harassment," and pose "a grave risk of harm to cooperating witnesses and defendants."

The letter says that in one case, a witness in Philadelphia had to be moved and the FBI called in to investigate after information from whosarat.com was mailed to neighbors and posted on utility poles and cars in the area.


Immigration Stories

Alongside its lead article on the heated politics of the immigration debate unfolding in Congress, the Washington Post features Another Hat Is Tossed In The RingNew Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson formally entered the race for the White House on Monday, but you'd be hard pressed to find much news about it on the front pages Tuesday morning.None of the major dailies feature a page-one story on the Democrat's official announcement of his campaign to become the nation's first Latino president, although the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times do run photos on the bottom of the first page with teases for articles inside the paper.

The New York Times runs its Richardson story on page A18, pointing out that the former congressman, diplomat and Clinton energy secretary's biggest frustration is that he has "perhaps the strongest résumé but is one of the least-known candidates" in the crowded presidential field.

Coverage on page A18 isn't likely to help.


A NOTE TO READERS: The Skinny is now available via e-mail. Click here and follow the directions to register to receive it in your inbox each weekday morning.

[berlinfoto-2009]

In the United States, the Government, is involved in crime. One can read any number of books about the Governments involvement in Drug Crime.
Over the years they is a whole list of individuals killed by the Government, or various branches of the Government. Many books written about the various murders. Fred Hampton, Martin Luther King Jr. John F. Kennedy, but the list goes on in to the thousands, quite possibly even million.
In cases of whistle-blowing the Government has and will kill. In my own family upper middle class, with absolutely no connection to organized crime, or any crime in general, three family members murdered by the United States Government, I have personally been hounded and harassed for years for my knowledge of this.
Six thousand unsolved murders in the United States every year, how many of these are committed by the Police.
The reason the United States is going down the drain is we have a crooked corrupt government, that simply cannot police it self.
The FBI would cover up a crime before it would investigate it, unless far too many people know about it before they can put a lid on it.
The United States Government is Sick.

[toddpw01]

Wow, a return to public shaming! What a concept!

What happened to the Federal Budget sunshine website?

Why are they stalling and then watering down lobbying reform in the Senate?

Simple-- the public isn't mad enough to truly scare them yet.

[roynadeau]

George Orwell was right. It's here; Big Brother is here. There is nowhere to hide. Do something, someone knows. Fairly soon, think something, someone knows. Public journals anyone?

[billpl-2009]

first time he snitches out a snitch who turns out NOT to be a snitch?? then gets hurt?

bye-bye mr snitchy snitch

[mike_hunt5]

"More importantly, those people who are simply walking down the street, observe a crime, and then cooperate with the police will also be targeted by this site."

How many times does it have to be repeated. These people are not witnesses. They are GOVERNMENT INFORMANTS and undercover cops there is huge difference.

[sty1]

anarchy is just beautiful. for some reason it frightens women..I dont know why. I just love it.

[latorria]

Does anyone know why I can't open this page. Have someone closed it I would really like to see some more news!

[kimberely4]

The administrators of this website have not done anything wrong. Kudos to them for making this site. It will likely make jobs of snitches more difficult, and maybe snitches and informants will think twice about doing undercover work for fear of getting killed. They never know who has checked out the website. The government has too much control over Americans. Our government is not different from the Iraqi government. The government goes in and kills people and nothing is ever heard again about the mysterious crime. This website is just a slap in the face to the government. There needs to be more websites like this.

[neoconslayer]

I find the automatic, unsupported assumption that the only people on this site are going to be criminals who have done far worse things than every single person on whom they inform to be pathetically childish.
While it is undeniably true that some people rat others to save themselves, this 'looking out for number one' can be observed in every single aspect of human interaction, and i'll bet if you were honest, you know of a time when you did the same thing at some level.
This site exists not for no other purpose than to facilitate the murders of people who cooperate with police.
Yes, there are people who rat on others to save themselves. If you think cops would let a rapist go free to bust someone for a dime bag, you're an idiot. More importantly, those people who are simply walking down the street, observe a crime, and then cooperate with the police will also be targeted by this site.
It really sounds like some people got hammered by informers and they really don't care how many innocent people die for their petty revenge fantasies. After all, no one is claiming that they were innocent, just that they are pissed that someone sold them out to save their own butt.
They should make a site for the people who didn't rat, not out of fear of retaliation, but just because their 'honor' demands it. I'm sure all three of them would make excellent reading...

[bobnjersey]

[Let's all do anything we want! and never suffer the consequences ]
[Posted by dagim41 at 05:14 PM : May 22, 2007]

that would be anarchy ... but if we all took turns ...