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By ERIC LICHTBLAU
,, - WASHINGTON,April 19—A wid-
ening spy scandal involving a vet-
:" • eran agent of the Federal Bureau of
! t1 1 Investigation and a prized informant
r ..
in Los Angeles is part of a much
. `� broader institutional problem that
thedisciplining of several
' has led to e
�� hundred agents in recent years for
_ improper dealings with informants,
i.; "., I law enforcement officials say.
' ‘-':41°',+;, The vast majority of these cases
have never been made public, but
a -` ,t a law enforcement officials who have
reviewed the problem say the F.B.I.
r ' x• has grappled with recurring epi-
• ' sodes in which agents have had sexu-
.> al or financial relationships with con-
fidential informants.
�� Some agents have worked out
i ,� P schemes in which they made"tens of'' thousands of dollars"by padding the
expenses paid to informants or by
4. '. i :l , demanding kickbacks from them,
ex- v.,/r, said a senior law enforcement offi• It = tial who insisted on anonymity.
"Getting too close to the asset is
ii
the thing that most often brings an
"400-:!;'._ ' •' agent down," the official said. "It
t happens over and over again,and it's
Photographs by Alex QuesadaiPolaris for The New York Times
A raucous Haitian carnival band slowed traffic to a crawl Friday night in South Beach,the Miami Beach neighborhood and international hot spot. usually about sex or money."
Senior F.B.I. officials acknowl-
edged in interviews this week that
The Hot New Sound in South Beach- `Quiet Please' better oversight was needed. But
they made clear that the bureau re-
lied on many thousands of confiden-
tial informants, including drug run-
By DANA CANEDY quality-of-life issues. There have been 276 citations and said South Beach was in the throes of ners, mobsters, professors, foreign
MIAMI BEACH, April 19 — The "Over the past decade or so," said 50 arrests for such offenses since last adjusting to its "new reality." diplomats and political defectors, to
pretty people and the trendy shops Simon Cruz, a Miami Beach city weekend,he said. "Before, we had transient resi- glean intelligence about crimes and
can stay, but South Beach residents commissioner,"what started to hap- Jacqueline Arias, a 21-year-old le- dents who were renting the Art Deco threats to national security. In the
have had enough of the loud music pen is that residential zoning and gal secretary from Miami,found out properties around the area,"he said. fight against terrorism, the F.B.I.
that thumps nightly from car ster- commercial zoning started to bleed the hard way just how serious the "They were a part of the night life, depends on them more than ever.
eos,boomboxes and nightclubs here, into each other. There were areas city is about noise. She was cruising but they have been supplanted by The F.B.I.'s system for managing
and they want the city to turn down that were commercial where condos down Ocean Drive with two friends permanent, year-round residents." its informants was thrown into the
the volume. sprung up and residential areas in her white BMW,playing her radio "Now," he continued, "we have a spotlight last week by the arrests in
"It's not just the noise and the where open-area clubs started pro- with the windows down, when a po- situation where we have to acknowl- Los Angeles of James J. Smith, a
vibration,"said Clotilde Luce,a free- truding, so it was a clash that was lice officer stopped her. The officer edge that the night life that got us the veteran agent,and Katrina Leung,a
lance writer who lives on Ocean waiting to happen." wrote a$50 ticket but later decided to notoriety and appeal that makes us longtime informant, on charges of
Drive."I can actually hear the words Enforcing an ordinance that has let her go with a warning. the city we were has changed,and we mishandling classified data.
to the music from a club four blocks been on the books for a long time,the are also a city that wants to have a Ms.Leung was a prized F.B.I."as-
away. I can hear the D.J." Miami Beach Police Department has certain level of sophistication and set," paid $1.7 million over the last
"When things get pretty loud, I begun citing or arresting anyone tranquillity." two decades to move seamlessly be-
wear earplugs to be able to concen- whose club, boombox or car stereo .A clash between Homeowners say that their invest- tween her native China and her
trate on what I'm doing," Ms. Luce music can be heard 100 yards away. ment in the community has fueled adopted home in Los Angeles in
said. "I think Miami Beach has a Violators are issued tickets for$50 to night life and the local economy in recent years, search of Chinese secrets.
choice between more conservative $500 and can be sentenced to up to six and that the city has an obligation to But prosecutors now contend that
people with money,who have pushed months in jail.Nightclub owners who quality Y ualit of life. respond to their concerns. Ms. Leung was a double agent.Soot
real estate here, and a crowd that violate the ordinance face fines of "When you live in $750,000 to $2 after she became an F.B.I.informan
comes over and behaves like it's $250 for first offenses and $500 for million apartments and have to sleep in 1982,Ms. Leung and Mr. Smith,
spring break all the time." each subsequent offense. Miami in a small bedroom on the opposite veteran counterintelligence ager
In some respects,the South Beach Beach is considering legislation that "He walked up and asked me if I side of your apartment just to avoid who was her handler, began an a1
neighborhood is a victim of its own would give the city the authority to was aware of the noise violation," the noise, it's very infuriating," said fair, officials said. Ms. Leung woult
success. About 15 years ago, it was close clubs that repeatedly violate it. Ms.Arias said."I said,`No.' We saw David Haber,a lawyer for the Porto- take and photocopy classified nation
blighted, its Art Deco hotels faded Since the crackdown began last signs when we were driving in and fino Towers Condominium Associa- al security documents from Mr
and neglected.Since then,the vibran- weekend, the police have issued 84 we were like,what is this?" tion."You can't have a beating drum Smith's briefcase during his man}
cy of South Beach's night life has citations and arrested 4 people for Ms. Arias said that with all the screaming in your ear all night." visits to her home and pass secret
made it an international hot spot. violating the ordinance, said Detec- public safety and security issues the Beach residents insist that they information to Chinese officials it
Some celebrities, like Madonna, tive Bobby Hernandez, the spokes- police have to deal with,enforcing a are not looking to stop anyone from Beijing,prosecutors say.
have moved on,but there have been man for the police department. noise control ordinance was a waste having a good time. They say they Defense lawyers have said Ms
recent sightings of Britney Spears "The loud noise is something that of time and resources. simply do not want to feel as if they Leung and Mr.Smith will be exoner
and Jennifer Lopez.And South Beach has become a real hot topic here in Club owners on the beach say the are living in Party Central. ated.
is increasingly home to affluent peo- Miami Beach and the chief,knowing city has forgotten the importance of "When there is loud music on,you Ms. Leung's family, in its firs
pie who were drawn by its vibe but this, put a task force of about 20 its night life. "Everybody got hurt shut your doors and you still can't public comments, said in a state
prefer sipping Cuban coffee in cafes officers together to address it be- when they started messing with the peacefully watch TV," said Josh ment released today that she ha(
to dancing the night away. tween the next 30 to 60 days," Detec- clubs," said Esteban Ramirez, the Fisher, 56, a senior researcher at a spent two decades "doing what tht
In an effort to strike a balance tive Hernandez said. "Our goal is to manager of the Club Deep nightclub. computer company, who lives in a F.B.I. wanted," putting herself ii
between the night life of South Beach get the word out there that this type "Now they're enforcing this ordi- condominium on the southernmost great personal danger. The famil
and the quality of life its residents of behavior is not going to be accept- nance, and they're really, really tip of South Beach. said she was now being targeted it
are demanding, city officials are ed anymore. It will also address oth- strict about everything. The city "You can't have dinner on the ter- part because she is a Chinese-Ameri
cracking down on nightclubs and er quality-of-life issues like prostitu- doesn't care much about the club race or entertain people. Well, you can woman.
night owls that violate the city's ordi- tion, urinating in public and loud scene anymore." can,but you count on somebody else "When Katrina can present th
nances on noise control and other exhaust pipes on motorcycles." Mr. Cruz, the city commissioner, to provide the music." full story,you will know she has bee
abused and smeared by the F.B.1
she is a loyal and patriotic America
.�," and she is innocent of any crime
. , n
IL ... ..
, ,' + against America," the statemer
A Miami Beach40 ° said.
• police officer lis- Defense lawyers have suggeste
tened for loud car L �S^x, ` that senior F.B.I. officials were we
stereos on Ocean --^------,• •`- �, t� aware of the information Ms. Leur
• gave to the Chinese.
Drive in South EkIF0
; MBeach on Friday ; Indeed, officials at F.B.I. heat
- .P' quarters received reports in the ea
night.Clotfreelance
�' ; '< ly 1990's that suggested Ms. Leur
Luce,a freelance �, z yt was giving unauthorized informatu
writer who lives , .... L .. • ' itMa t, to the Chinese government. But
on Ocean Drive, -._ .ry: _ Ilk
J former F.B.I.official who was a pa
wears earplugs to i ; 1ff • ticipant in a 1991 meetingcalled
{ a A 7 t Washington to discuss the proble
block out the f I _
noise from night- 1‘• said officials were willing to acce
clubs in the -e = r the risk that she was a double age.
because she was producing sun
neighborhood. -.X:-.,.-.-,. ..- valuable information for the F.B.I.
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\;.. �` "It's a give and take," the offici