By Sarah Karush, The Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) -- The FBI agent in charge of the Detroit field office, Willie Hulon, has been temporarily recalled to headquarters in Washington amid an internal investigation into a criminal case and the handling of a confidential informant, officials said Wednesday.
Hulon was replaced for the time being by Michael Wolf, who has headed the FBI office in New Haven, Conn., said two federal law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The internal investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the inspector general of the Justice Department, both of whom investigate allegations of misconduct by federal officials.
In a statement issued Wednesday night in Washington, the FBI would not comment publicly on the investigation but did say that “any time an allegation is received it is investigated by the FBI and/or the Department of Justice to determine if there is any basis to it.”
The Detroit field office also declined to comment.
The internal investigation is centered on the Detroit FBI’s handling of the arrest Jan. 20 of two brothers -- Ali Abdul-Karim Farhat and Hassan Farhat -- charged with drug trafficking and financial support of the Hezbollah terrorist group.
In addition, the officials said the internal probe is concerned with a letter written by the informant, Marwan Farhat, contending that FBI agent Robert Pertuso told him to break the law by stealing mail from people the government identified as terror suspects. Marwan Farhat is not related to the brothers charged in the criminal case.
One federal law enforcement official confirmed the contents of the letter, which was first reported this week by The Detroit News.
Marwan Farhat also figures in a Justice Department probe of Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino, the lead prosecutor in a major post-Sept. 11 case that ended in two terrorism convictions. A U.S. district judge is deciding whether to grant a new trial in that case because Convertino and his co-counsel failed to turn over evidence that might have helped the defense.