FBI Wiretaps Cut Because of Unpaid Bills

The FBI has had some telecommunications wiretaps cut off because it failed to pay its bills on time.

A summary of an audit report released yesterday by Justice Department inspector general Glenn Fine said late payments were a problem in more than half of the telecom bills reviewed, the Washington Post reports.

"Late payments have resulted in telecommunications carriers actually disconnecting phone lines established to deliver surveillance results to the FBI, resulting in lost evidence," Fine said in the summary. He has issued a number of reports about financial and inventory problems at the bureau that include unaccounted-for guns and laptop computers.

One case mentioned in the report involved a wiretap issued under Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which covers terrorism and espionage cases.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said the bureau was able to recover intercepted evidence after it paid the bills. "No evidence was lost in these cases," he said.