12436 Tags
dea
1 Project
The "Mob Cops" Case
43 Articles
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Requester’s Voice: The Washington Post’s Steven Rich
Steven Rich, the database editor for the investigations team at The Washington Post, recently gained access to a database that traced every pain pill distributed across the US between 2006 and 2012. The database provides a look at where opioids have been distributed by which pharmaceutical companies, and shows that the federal government has long been aware of the scope of the opioid crisis. Rich spoke to MuckRock about taking advantage of a lawsuit to gain access to the Drug Enforcement Administration pain pill database and how to use public records to report on private companies.

This week’s FOIA round-up: DEA database points to companies’ roles in opioid epidemic and Interior emails reveal violations of federal ethics rules
In this week’s FOIA round-up, the Washington Post and HD Media gain access to a database that tracks opioid distribution, emails obtained through a FOIA request reveal the extent of a top Department of the Interior official’s violations of federal ethics rules, and city and court records reveal that in one Alaska town every single police officer has been convicted of domestic violence.
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Help release the FBI’s files on notorious CIA-tied drug smuggler Barry Seal
In response to a FOIA request filed by Emma Best back in June, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has located close to 22,000 pages of records on Adler Berriman “Barry” Seal, a notorious drug smuggler with ties to the Central Intelligence Agency, whose life was most recently fictionalized in the 2017 film American Made.
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A tip about Scientology infiltrators led DEA to change their hiring practices
A newly released Federal Bureau of Investigation memo shows that the exposure of Scientology’s “Operation Snow White” and the resulting 1979 convictions didn’t end government concerns about Scientology infiltrators.

The week in FOIA responses: the Good, the Bad, and the Somewhat Reasonable
FOIA is both a vital tool for the public to gain access to government records, and a frustrating process that reveals infuriating facts and sometimes even more infuriating government employees - as well as super helpful public servants who replenish your faith in humanity just enough to keep you filing FOIAs another day.
Here’s the best and worst of some of MuckRock’s recent interactions with the keepers of public information.
24 Requests
Rejected
William Edstrom sent this request to the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States of America
Completed
Alberto Geddis Martinez, AKA "Alpo" (June 8, 1966 – October 31, 2021)
T. McElwee sent this request to the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States of America
Completed
Communication with Senator Lindsey Graham (Drug Enforcement Administration)
Chris Meller sent this request to the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States of America
Rejected
DEA ALPR PIA and supporting documentation
William Green sent this request to the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States of America
Completed
DEA ALPR PIA and supporting documentation request processing notes
William Green sent this request to the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States of America