DEA AGENT ALLEGEDLY TRIED TO HAVE HIS WIFE KILLED

A veteran U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent was arrested Tuesday for investigation of trying to hire someone to kill his wife, federal authorities said.

Jonas Raymond Montalvo, 44, was arrested by the FBI at his office after an investigation that began with a telephone tip Friday and continued through the weekend, said Errol Chavez, the special agent in charge of the San Diego field division of the DEA. "We needed to take action immediately for the sake of the wife," Chavez said.

Montalvo was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday and has not yet entered a plea.

The agent suspected his wife was being unfaithful and tried to hire someone to run her over, federal officials said. The DEA asked the FBI to investigate to avoid any conflict, Chavez said.

The agent worked for the DEA since 1988, investigating the activities of drug cartels based nearby in Mexico's Baja California and working undercover in Imperial County, he said.