I guess success in “black” money by the CIA is a model copied by other federal agencies. So much for Congressional control via the “power of the purse”.
For seven years, agents at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives followed an unwritten policy: If you needed to buy something for one of your cases, do not bother asking Washington. Talk to agents in Bristol, Va., who controlled a multimillion-dollar account unrestricted by Congress or the bureaucracy.
Need a flashy BMW for an undercover operation? Call Bristol.
A vending machine with a hidden camera? Bristol.
Travel expenses? Take this credit card. It’s on Bristol.
The agency provided two informants with $6 million. Records show that one ATF agent “steered hundreds of thousands of dollars in real estate, electronics and money to his church and his children’s sports teams, records show.” Read more here.