Pubdate: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 Source: Arizona Daily Star (AZ) Copyright: 2001 Pulitzer Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/23 Author: Joe Salkowski BORDER AGENT HELD ON BRIBERY CHARGES A U.S. Border Patrol agent faces three bribery counts accusing him of selling his agency's reports on marijuana seizures. Charles D. Brown, 55, was charged Friday with accepting $1,000 apiece for three reports detailing Southern Arizona drug seizures. He faces up to 15 years in prison or up to $750,000 in fines if he's convicted of selling the documents, which drug dealers can use to account for lost shipments or verify their subordinates' stories. Brown is a supervisory agent who served 23 years with the Border Patrol. An agency spokesman declined to comment. The arrest came after an investigation by the Southern Arizona Corruption Task Force, a group that includes the FBI, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Customs Service's internal affairs office and the U.S. Attorney's Office, among others. FBI spokesman Ed Hall issued a release saying Brown facilitated criminal activities by providing the reports to a drug trafficking organization. The criminal complaint, though, states only that Brown "sold the reports to a person for $1,000 each on three different occasions" between Aug. 22 and Nov. 29. Brown will remain in federal custody at least until a detention hearing set for Tuesday at 10:15 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Bernardo Velasco. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart