PHOENIX DEA AGENT CHARGED WITH WITNESS TAMPERING

WASHINGTON, DC - Assistant Attorney General Christopher Wray of the Criminal Division and Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine announced today that Douglas C. Furlow, 43, a Special Agent with the Phoenix Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Arizona on one count of witness tampering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(3).

According to the indictment, unsealed today following Furlow’s arrest, Furlow allegedly interfered with a criminal investigation in which an undercover DEA informant was to make a drug buy leading to a suspected drug trafficker’s arrest by calling the trafficker and warning him that the informant was working with law enforcement. The DEA’s investigation was aborted, and neither the drug buy nor the arrest could be made. The trafficker later fled.

Furlow faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. The public is cautioned that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the Government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This prosecution is being handled by Trial Attorneys Kartik K. Raman and Shaun M. Palmer of the Public Integrity Section, headed by Section Chief Noel L. Hillman. The investigation is being conducted by the Tucson Field Office of the Office of the Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Norman Lau, and the DEA’s Office of Professional Responsibility, Western Field Division.

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