Informant Suspended By DEA

HOUSTON -- The Drug Enforcement Administration has suspended an
informant who was paid $2.2 million over 16 years, during which time
he is accused of lying about his criminal record, the Houston
Chronicle reported yesterday.

The agency took the action this month against Andrew Chambers, pending
a background review, the newspaper reported. The DEA is also reviewing
its procedures regarding the issue.

"In our review thus far, Chambers has been arrested on about six
occasions, not including traffic offenses," DEA spokesman Terry Parham
said. "He has not been convicted of a felony or any offense involving
honesty."

His arrests include two for solicitation of prostitution, one for
forgery, one for theft, one for a domestic assault and one for
impersonating a police officer, the newspaper reported. His only known
conviction came in a Denver solicitation case.

"In certain circumstances, the prosecutors and [DEA] case agents were
apparently unaware of the fact that Chambers had an arrest record,"
Parham said. "Chambers provided false testimony on the witness stand
about his arrest record on at least three occasions."

Defense attorneys whose clients have faced cases involving testimony
by Chambers have complained for years about Chambers.

Chambers' newly discovered arrest record might open the door to
appeals, they say.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler in Washington, D.C., ordered the
DEA to disclose Chambers' full criminal history, specific criminal
cases he worked and how much he was paid. She cited evidence
"suggesting massive government misconduct."

The DEA responded Jan. 7 but did not report Chambers' solicitation
arrest in Houston. The agency has yet to produce details of the cases
Chambers worked, according to attorney H. Dean Steward.

Steward, a Santa Ana, Calif., federal public defender who represents
the plaintiff in the suit that led to Kessler's order, contended in
court papers filed last week that the DEA response was
insufficient.

Steward asserts that a wiretap crucial to a homicide case against his
client never would have been authorized if Chambers' record had been
disclosed.

DEA agents and prosecutors, however, praise Chambers for his work in
more than 20 cities, including Houston, Los Angeles and Miami -- which
they say has led to the arrests of 445 defendants, and seizure of more
than a ton of cocaine, $6 million in assets and numerous weapons and
motor vehicles.