An
undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATF) infiltrated Jeremy Halgat's life for three years before
he lured him into drug crimes "designed and engineered by the
government." He had Halgat's home searched and found nothing. He tried
to get Halgat to buy illegal guns and Halgat recited federal gun law.
Finally, after many rejected requests and a heavy hand by the agent, ATF
Task Force Officer Agostino Brancato got Halgat to play a role in a
cocaine sale, in pleas that exploited their false friendship, and
Brancato's false claims of monetary desperation.
A federal
magistrate judge recommended this week that criminal charges against
Halgat carrying a term of up to 20 years in prison be dismissed.
"[T]he
government's investigation deployed techniques that generated a wholly
new crime for the sake of pressing criminal charges against Halgat,"
Judge Cam Ferenbach wrote.
Brancato was investigating Halgat
because he was in a suspected motorcycle gang that was the target of a
mission known as "Operation Pure Luck." But Halgat had no criminal
record and appeared committed to abiding by the law. Although he was an
occasional cocaine user, he stated many times that he had long ago
disavowed cocaine trafficking. When Brancato repeatedly asked him over
the course of five weeks to buy cocaine, invoking language that they
were "familia" and monetary desperation, Halgat repeatedly refused,
stating that "I had a wakeup call one day" and on another occasion, "I
can't fucking help. I can't help."
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