Bear

I. Background

Prior to Bear’s alleged participation in the charged conspir- acy, she acted as a confidential source for the DEA in its UNITED STATES v. BEAR 1999 investigation of Christopher Chapman, a methamphetamine manufacturer and distributor. She made two controlled pur- chases of methamphetamine from Chapman in November of 2000.

In March of 2001, the DEA intercepted phone calls indicat- ing that Bear was engaging in additional, allegedly unautho- rized activities with Chapman, including attempting to broker a deal for the manufacture and distribution of twelve to fifteen pounds of methamphetamine. On March 14, 2002, the DEA arrested Bear in connection with these activities. During inter- rogation, she denied that any of the DEA agents, including Deputy Hager, had authorized these acts.

After Bear’s arrest, the government learned that Hager was the subject of an internal affairs investigation and disciplinary action by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (“LASD”) concerning allegations that he had wrongly accused another officer of assisting drug dealers. The govern- ment reported this to Bear by letter and informed her of a nine-volume…