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Informant sues feds, says they didn't tell him when agent for whom he worked was fired

A longtime informant has sued the federal government, contending that he was repeatedly put in danger because the Department of Homeland Security fired the agent for whom he worked but didn’t tell him.

As a result, alleges “John Doe,” he for years transported cash across the Mexican border for the fired agent, Don Rodmel, after Rodmel’s 2008 termination, Courthouse News reports. The complaint was filed Friday in federal court in San Diego by attorneys Eugene Iredale and Julia Yoo.

Doe’s suit, which asserts causes of action for breach of contract, negligence, breach of faith and promissory estoppel, seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

It says Doe only became aware that Rodmel no longer was employed by Homeland Security in November 2012, when Doe was arrested near Fresno, California, carrying $50,000 in cash that he thought was part of a federal investigation.

After spending more than 24 hours in custody, Doe was released. The incident led to Rodmel’s 2013 conviction for impersonating a federal officer, for which he was sentenced to five years of probation and fined $50,000, the suit says.

“John Doe expended hundreds of hours of work engaged in the transporting of money, reporting to Rodmel and subjecting himself to a risk of physical injury or even death by investigating persons who were involved in conveying money involved in the drug trade,” the complaint alleges. “As a result of his reasonable and foreseeable reliance” on government promises, it continues, “John Doe suffered an arrest by state officials and imprisonment for more than 24 hours. John Doe is due reasonable compensation for his lost time, being subjected to danger and risk, which continues to this day, and arrest and imprisonment.”

Related coverage:

San Diego Reader: “While impersonating a federal officer, Don Rodmel allegedly seized cash”