Weapons Traffic: ATF Director testifies that Mexican cartels paid to inform for FBI, DEA

ATF: Mexican cartels paid to inform for FBI, DEA | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper: "The embattled head of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has told congressional investigators that some Mexican drug cartel figures targeted by his agency in a gun-trafficking investigation were paid informants for the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration. ...

In two days of meetings with congressional investigators over the weekend, Melson said the FBI and DEA kept the ATF "in the dark" about their relationships with the cartel informants. If ATF agents had known of the relationships, the agency might have ended the investigation earlier, he said.

As a result of Melson's statements, "our investigation has clearly expanded," a source close to the congressional investigation said this week, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the inquiry is ongoing. "We know now it was not something limited to just a small group of ATF agents in Arizona."