If you lie with the DEA, you're sure as hell gonna get fleas

And probably jail time.

Proving once again that the Drug Enforcement Agency will stop at nothing to do...what...I'm not sure.

Many people accused of crimes come up with unusual defenses and alibis, but one sad-faced man now imprisoned at Rikers Island has offered a novel one. He says he was working as an undercover operative and committed a home-invasion robbery in 2004 with the full knowledge and approval of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency.

The suspect, Juan Medina, currently on trial in State Supreme Court in the Bronx, was arrested after first waiting for the police to arrive. They found a .38-caliber revolver, two .38-caliber bullets and three stolen cellphones in his jacket pocket.

The D.E.A. has acknowledged that Mr. Medina, 24, was under contract as an informant. But the agency has not come to his aid, and is, in fact, helping prosecute him on charges of burglary, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon stemming from the robbery at a Bronx apartment. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Last week, Joseph Mercurio, a D.E.A. special agent, testified that neither he nor anyone else at the agency knew that Mr. Medina and the drug gang he was trying to infiltrate had been preparing to commit a crime.

Mr. Medina has said that he had spoken to either Mr. Mercurio — whom he knew only as “Joe,” or to Mr. Mercurio’s partner, Detective Therone Eugene, a k a “T.J.” — a few hours before the bungled crime, telling them that the gang was casing an apartment.

“I always told them what I was going to do,” Mr. Medina said during an interview at Rikers Island before his trial started. “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Mr. Medina, who had no previous criminal record, said he became involved with the D.E.A. in the fall of 2004, a few months after his father was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on drug conspiracy charges. He said he was told that if he helped the agency, his father might win an early release. (He asked that his father not be identified.)

“One of the agents who arrested my father said, ‘If you know one of his friends who he used to be with, you could help us,’ ” he said. “They said, ‘You could get paid and you could also get your father less time.’ ”

Mr. Medina said he signed a contract even though he told agents he knew little about his father’s criminal associates. Mr. Medina said one of the agents told him, “Don’t worry, we’re going to take care of your father.”Mr. Medina said he interpreted that to mean that his father would get a reduced prison sentence.

During questioning at the trial, Mr. Mercurio corroborated Mr. Medina’s account of how he had come to work with the agency, but he was not asked about any promises made concerning Mr. Medina’s father. Mr. Mercurio did not respond to requests for an interview.

Mr. Medina’s attorney, Marty Goldberg, said the relationship was tainted from the beginning. “They took advantage of this guy who doesn’t have a lot of sophistication or education, who got involved with them to try to help his father,” he said. “Essentially, they’re sending this guy out as an undercover, except he’s not trained.”

Mr. Mercurio said Mr. Medina signed a Confidential Source Agreement dated Sept. 29, 2004, that detailed 23 provisions regarding the terms of Mr. Medina’s employment, including permission for “the controlled purchase of controlled substances in an undercover capacity under the direction and control of D.E.A. controlling investigators” and “the infiltration of a drug-trafficking organization.”

Apart from that, the agreement prohibited Mr. Medina from taking part in illegal activity.

Well, of course, the distinction is so brightly drawn. Go ahead and purchase controlled substances, but don't ever, ever break the law. The DEA agents lied to this guy, misrepresenting that he could help get his father out of jail, and when he no longer proved useful to them, they dropped him like the president drops his "Gs." I suppose he was supposed to say to the drug gang he'd infiltrated on DEA's behalf, "Sorry guys, I'm all in on the 'controlled purchase of controlled substances' thing, but I gotta draw the line on breaking into some dealer's crib. So if you'll excuse me, I have to make a phone call." I'm sure that would have gone over well. There's a reason why he didn't want his father identified in the story.

The more I read about this, the angrier I get (and I'm already pretty angry). This guy lives with his kid and his mom, has no previous convictions, was put into as dangerous a situation as you can get into, and because he couldn't think quite straight in a stressful situation for which he was not trained, they want to put him in jail for 25 years. And the DEA is helping with the conviction. Mother fuckers.

All hail our other wasteful, deadly war built on lies, government overreach, and the rewards -- for both sides -- in making it never ending. Tough luck for the victims who get in the middle.