Federal Bureau of Investigation

Craig Watkins Painted Himself into a Corner in His Contempt Case. Now What?

So this is easy, isn't it? Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins himself will prove whether he's a crook or not by refiling or not refiling his big case against Al Hill III. What's it going to be? Either he does follow through on his threat to refile, because he thinks Hill's lawyers and th ... More >>

Stacey Hargraves' Mary Kay Job Didn't Pay Well, So He Became a Terrible Bank Robber

Stacey Hargraves was pulling in $300 per week from his job in the sanitation department at Mary Kay, but it never seemed to stretch far enough to support his wife, children and his propensity to gamble and go to sporting events. And so, according to the FBI, he walked into the Comerica Bank on Illi ... More >>

Barrett Brown Was Hit With a Third Indictment Yesterday, This Time For Concealing Evidence

For the third time in four months, former self-proclaimed Anonymous spokesman Barrett Brown has been indicted on federal charges, this time for concealing evidence. Brown has already been charged with a laundry list of crimes. He was arrested in September, after a raid on his Dallas apartment, then ... More >>

The Story of the Handsome Guy Bandit Was Made for Hollywood*

(*The Handsome Guy Bandit thinks so, anyway.)

Burn It All Down

Buzz looks back on 2012 before the memories go where they belong: up in smoke.

Muslim Hunting

David Horowitz has made taunting college students a spectator sport. Sometimes he's actually right.

The Bizarre Tale of Sam Lone Wolf, the "Spiritual Elder" in the Case of the White Buffalo

Earlier this month, I wrote a cover story so bizarre, I had to periodically check official documents just to be sure I had not wandered into the realm of magical realism. Yes, in fact, a sacred white buffalo was born to a Greenville rancher named Arby Little Soldier during a lightning storm in 2011. ... More >>

Wayne White Called John Wiley Price a "Chicago Politician in Texas," Which is Looking Truer by the Filing

OK. Now I get why the FBI is taking so long with the investigation of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price. They actually have to figure out all the stuff I can just paint as colorful drama. And they're doing it. I haven't been keeping up with my John Wiley Price homework, or I would have me ... More >>

Dallas Doctor Who Says He Single-Handedly Foiled Obama Assassination Plot Barred From Practicing Medicine

Until recently, Dr. Wayne Soignier worked out of his office on Royal Lane, primarily providing medical evaluations for the Texas workers' compensation system. At some point, the Texas Department of Insurance became concerned about his professional conduct and called him to appear before a two-member ... More >>

Couple Suing Over False Reports of Mass Grave Say After Police Raid, They Came Home To a Trashed House and No Friends

Back in June, we told you about Joe Bankson and Gena Charlton, a couple in Hardin whose rural farmhouse was raided after law enforcement got a hot tip from a psychic named "Angel" about a mass grave on the property. The mass grave didn't exist, Angel quickly made herself scarce, and the half-dozen ... More >>

Dallas Police Chief Announces Policy Shifts After Fallout from James Harper Shooting

On the Dallas Police Department's Facebook page this afternoon, Chief David Brown announced in a lengthy post measures to "positively impact officer safety and improve public trust and confidence." The announcement comes in the wake of the July 24 shooting death of James Harper and a spate of other ... More >>

Texas A&M Study Says Castle-Doctrine Laws Increase Homicides, Don't Deter Crime

In news sure to inspire furious bickering inside your television, a Texas A&M study has found that the castle doctrine -- on which Florida's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law is based --

It's Time to Kick Our Addiction to John Wiley Price

Pretty soon, any day now, maybe tomorrow, well, possibly in a week or so, I may join a 12-steps program in which I stand up at the beginning of every meeting and say, "Hi everybody, my name is Jim, and I can't stop talking about John Wiley Price." Not today. If you are visiting from out of town o ... More >>

Anthony Blue, Bank Robber Turned in by Mom, Gets Five Years. Think He'll Write Home?

It was back in January when we first introduced you to young Anthony Blue, a 19-year-old man trying to make a go in the bank-robbing field. He was off to a decent start, actually: In June of last year, he had walked into a Garland bank and slipped the teller a note -- "50's 100's and no body gets hu ... More >>

Bill Fisher is the Good Guy, So Why Are We Making Him Pay?

The Morning News slimed the developer who exposed City Hall corruption and threw its support behind a rival.

Kids, Trust No One. My Work Is Done Here.

​Oh, wouldn't you know I'd wind up agreeing with my opponent? You know what's wrong with me? I am just too damn much of a sweetheart, that's my problem. Too nice, too smart, too good-lookin'. I've got to drop at least one just to make things fair. So this morning I met on the field of battle ... More >>

Cut Out the Middlemen

Tribal politics at the heart of Dallas' corruption problems.

Now We Have a Much Better Idea What Feds Want Hillwood to Produce in JWP Investigation

Ross Perot Jr.​We've known since June 30 -- days after FBI agents raided the homes and offices of John Wiley Price and Kathy Nealy, among others -- that the feds had also paid a visit to Ross Perot Jr.'s Hillwood HQ. As Haynes and Boone's Barry McNeil told The News: "The FBI has served subpoenas t ... More >>

John Wiley Price and the Broken Bail Bond Board

The county bail bond board has long let the industry take a county for a ride. You'll never guess who's at the wheel.

Feds Want Dallas Federal Judge to Decide Who Owns Letter Jackie Wrote to Ethel Kennedy

Via.​Back in 2006 Unfair Park's across-the-street neighbor Heritage Auction Galleries sold some letters written and signed by Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert. 'Round the same time, the auction house came into possession of a note of condolences Jackie Kennedy had written to Ethel shortly after Robe ... More >>

John Wiley Price: Give the Devil His Due

And don't believe everything you read.

Bill Fisher handed the FBI a chance to clean up City Hall. Does that make Fisher Mr. Clean?

Just How Did "Frank Sullivan" of Plano Get 247 People To Give Him Money, Anyhow?

​This just in from the U.S. Attorney's Office: A 29-year-old man from Plano, Edward Louis Molz III, pleaded guilty in Dallas federal court this morning to a single count of wire fraud, for which he faces up 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. On top of that, he could have to pay back the more ... More >>

Southwest's Flight Attendants Also Don't Much Care For TSA's New Screening Procedures

​Southwest Airlines's 9,400 flight attendants just sent word: They don't wanna be scanned. And they don't wanna be gate-raped.  That's the gist of the missive Transport Workers Union Local 556 President Thom McDaniel sent to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and TSA Administrato ... More >>

Mexican Authorities, FBI Round Up Four Locals Indicted for Cybercrimes Last Week

​Turns out, reports of Michael Faulkner's death were highly exaggerated. Special Agent Mark White, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Dallas spokesman, tells Unfair Park today that the Southlake resident -- who was among the 19 indicted by a federal grand jury last week for a "massive cybercrim ... More >>

In Federal Court Today, FBI Special Agent Lays Out Case Against Hosam Maher Smadi

The FBI says Hosam Maher Smadi made a video for Osama bin Laden. Problem is, it was recorded by an undercover FBI agent.​Moments ago, U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma Ramirez ruled that there's probable cause to try 19-year-old Jordanian Hosam Maher Smadi for allegedly trying to blow up Fountain Place i ... More >>

Up the Sleazy River At the Dallas City Hall Corruption Trial

Up the Sleazy River At the Dallas City Hall Corruption Trial

"West Texas Puro Tango Blast" -- Not As Much Fun As It Sounds

Only a few days ago, The Dallas Morning News ran a piece about Texas' Tango Blast gang, which was formed within the confines of the state's penitentiaries and "could change the Dallas landscape because it rejects old notions of prison gang exclusivity and lifelong commitments," wrote Tanya Eiserer. ... More >>

Dallas Flashes Back to 1997

A Trinity River vote, the return of the Citizens Council, a corruption case at City Hall. Buzz is confused. Was this 2007 or 1997?

Former Observer Managing Editor Has A New Book Out. Again.

Slow Out the Gate

Don Hill's late decision to run for mayor could benefit other candidates

Zzzzz...Huh? Oh Yeah. That Mayor Thingy.

The Place To B Tonight

Top Chief

Roots

The mess at City Hall goes back to ancient times

Feelin' groovy

...and ineffectual

No. 1 With a Bullet

Welcome to America's crime capital

Dallas' Chief Problem

Nobody believes Terrell Bolton anymore--except his friends at Dallas City Hall

Mr. No Apology

Bill Hill's office helped jail dozens of innocent people, and he's a shoo-in for re-election. Huh?

Twice Told Tale

Bolton's chief accuser has stuck to his story for more than a year

Trouble in Mind

The Cell dives into the brain of a killer, but it's a shallow pool

The good neighbor

Bombing suspect Bobby Frank Cherry's sordid past trailed him to the shores of Cedar Creek Lake

Ain't got no body

Madalyn Murray O'Hair is still missing, but the investigation into what authorities believe was a murder grinds on

Bad trip

As anguished Plano watched heroin pick off its children one by one, a cry went up for police to do anything to stop the deadly plague. Months later, some parents say they went too far.

Letters

The Why? movie

The X-Files reveals enough good stuff, but offers more questions than answers

One Fine Mess

Elected by no one, John Scovell and a clique of Dallas business leaders brought you DISD's most infamous cast of characters: Yvonne Gonzalez, Dan Peavy, Bill Keever, and Sandy Kress. Thanks a lot.

Shooting blanks

Melvin and Mario Van Peebles' Festival-capping historical drama Panther is a muddled mess

Talking trash

Ferris' landfill stays in limbo--while state regulators fight among themselves