CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Customs officials are telling Congress that Mexican drug cartels are infiltrating federal law enforcement agencies along the southwest border. And those charged with weeding them out say they don't have the money to catch all the corrupt agents.
James Tomsheck, assistant commissioner with U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Internal Affairs, told a Senate panel Thursday that only about one in 10 of the new hires for agency jobs are given polygraph tests. And of those who take them, 60 percent are deemed unsuitable for employment.
The Associated Press reported last year that four applicants for border protection jobs were were not hired when polygraph tests and background checks confirmed they were infiltrators from drug trafficking operations.
U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Arkansas, who chaired the hearing of the Homeland Security subcommittee, said Tomsheck's figures were alarming.
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Customs officials are telling Congress that Mexican drug cartels are infiltrating federal law enforcement agencies along the southwest border. And those charged with weeding them out say they don't have the money to catch all the corrupt agents.
James Tomsheck, assistant commissioner with U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Internal Affairs, told a Senate panel Thursday that only about one in 10 of the new hires for agency jobs are given polygraph tests. And of those who take them, 60 percent are deemed unsuitable for employment.
The Associated Press reported last year that four applicants for border protection jobs were were not hired when polygraph tests and background checks confirmed they were infiltrators from drug trafficking operations.
U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Arkansas, who chaired the hearing of the Homeland Security subcommittee, said Tomsheck's figures were alarming.
[URL]http://cbs11tv.com/local/Only.fraction.of.2.1554121.html[/URL]