THREE DEFENDANTS CHARGED WITH MAKING FALSE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE IN DETROIT

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray of the Criminal Division and Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine announced today that an expanded criminal complaint has been filed charging three defendants in connection with a scheme to deceive the Federal Bureau of Investigation that included false allegations against the head of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office.

Myron Strong, 33, Andre Boone, 26, both of Port Huron, Michigan, and Richard K. Ready, 32, of Detroit, were charged in the superseding criminal complaint filed this morning at federal court in Detroit.

On Friday, agents from the Office of the Inspector General and the FBI arrested Strong and Boone, and charged them with witness tampering, obstruction of justice and retaliation against a federal law enforcement officer. In addition, Strong was charged with theft of government property. Ready was arrested yesterday and charged with heroin distribution.

The complaint filed today alleges that Strong, Boone and Ready conspired to create the impression that Willie Hulon, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit FBI office, leaked sensitive law enforcement information to drug traffickers. According to the government’s affidavit, Strong, who was an informant for the FBI, caused Boone and Ready to make statements falsely incriminating Hulon on telephone calls that Strong knew were being monitored by the FBI. In those calls, Boone and Ready falsely suggested that they had an improper relationship with Hulon and that Hulon had provided them information about the FBI’s investigation into their drug trafficking.

The complaint further alleges that Strong had Boone pose as a drug dealer and threaten to kill an undercover government agent in two telephone calls. In a search of Boone’s residence, OIG, FBI, and task force agents recovered what appeared to be scripts used in several phone calls in connection with their alleged scheme. In addition, agents searching Strong’s residence found an AK 47 rifle and a shotgun. Strong appeared in court for a detention hearing this morning; a detention hearing for Ready is scheduled for later today. Boone was released on Feb. 2, 2004, on a $25,000 unsecured bond.

The government’s affidavit also alleges that Strong fraudulently obtained tens of thousands of dollars in informant fees, drug buy money, and travel expenses by misleading the government into believing that he was assisting authorities in investigating a large drug conspiracy, when in fact he had largely fabricated the evidence and information provided to the government.

Hulon previously had been temporarily reassigned to FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., according to standard FBI procedure, while the investigation into these allegations proceeded.

“The criminal complaints allege that these defendants tried to set up a senior FBI agent by falsely implicating him in a criminal conspiracy,” said Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray. “This outrageous scheme not only threatened to deceive the government but also threatened to ruin the reputation of a career public servant. Thanks to the quick and thorough work of our investigators, we were able to expose the scheme for what it was: a total fraud.”

“False accusations of wrongdoing against law enforcement agents undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system and unfairly smear the reputation of public servants,” added Inspector General Glenn A. Fine. “The OIG aggressively investigated these allegations, and, as described in the complaints, determined that this was an elaborate and egregious scheme to falsely implicate Hulon in criminal activity.”

The charges of conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to obstruct and steal government property each carry a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charges of obstruction of justice and witness tampering each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of retaliation against a law enforcement officer carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and up to $100,000 in fines. The charge of theft of government property carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of being a felon in possession carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The investigation is being conducted by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General with assistance from the FBI and is being directed by Noel Hillman, Chief of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, and prosecutors Kartik Raman and Daniel Schwager from his office. Public Integrity was assisted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Allen of the Eastern District of Michigan.

The public is cautioned that a criminal complaint is merely a formal method of filing charges against an individual and does not constitute an inference of his or her guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until such time that the government establishes his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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