A business owner in Boston was caught on tape trying to bribe a federal agent after being exposed as an undocumented immigrant.  Jose Neto, a Brazillian national who crossed the border 10 years ago, was caught in a sting operation after he responded to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) letter questioning his immigration status and allegedly asked ICE Special Agent Michael Perrella to help him erase his immigration problems. 

Neto and his wife were among 700 suspected aliens ordered to report to ICE offices in Boston after an investigation exposed a phony green card and identification ring.  Neto is charged with offering Perrella a bribe of $20,000 in October in exchange for green cards for himself and his wife.  In November, Neto offered another bribe of $9,000 if Perrella would help two Brazillian men escape from ICE custody.  Agents delivered the men in secretly taped meetings.  Immigration agents have locked up all 57 employees of Neto as undocumented immigrants. 

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Joe Whitley, the first General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security, submitted his letter of resignation to President Bush earlier this month.  His resignation date has not been determined in order to allow for a smooth transition.  According to a DHS press release, as Homeland Security’s chief legal officer oversaw the integration of approximately 1,500 attorneys from 22 different agencies into a full service legal team.