The Drug Enforcement Administration paid a spy within the rail service Amtrak nearly $1 million over two decades for confidential passenger information, according to a government watchdog.

The Amtrak Office of the Inspector General disclosed the espionage and bribery in a quarterly status report sent to members of Congress on June 30.

The report says a train and engine crew secretary, who has since retired, was paid $854,460 since 1995 for providing passenger information to the DEA.

Amtrak police and the DEA are members of a joint drug task force and the information could have been obtained for free.

The inspector general report, which does not name the spy, says “[t]he actions of the secretary prevented [Amtrak police] from jointly working with DEA in narcotics trafficking on Amtrak property, thus depriving APD from receiving $854,460 in asset forfeiture funds.”

It’s unclear why the calculated loss to Amtrak police is equal to the DEA’s payments to the secretary.

A spokeswoman for the inspector general's office on Tuesday declined to share the status report with U.S. News, but a congressional aide provided the document.

The media began reporting on the bribes late Monday, after a congressional staffer thumbed through the report and discovered a one-paragraph description of the payments.

The passage from the quarterly report says:



Secretary Provides Confidential Passenger Name Reservation (PNR) Information for Payment – A secretary to a Train and Engine crew regularly provided confidential PNR information to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents without seeking approval from Amtrak management or the Amtrak Police Department (APD). The employee received $854,460 in payment from DEA for this information from 1995 to the present. APD and DEA participate in a joint drug enforcement task force. The drug task force members can obtain Amtrak PNR information from APD task force members at no cost. The actions of the secretary prevented APD from jointly working with DEA in narcotics trafficking on Amtrak property, thus depriving APD from receiving $854,460 in asset forfeiture funds. The secretary was removed from service, and company charges were filed. The secretary chose to retire. We suggested policy changes and other measures to address control weaknesses that Amtrak management is considering.



A spokesman for the DEA declined to comment.

Kathleen Ranowsky, deputy counsel to the Amtrak inspector general, denied a U.S. News Freedom of Information Act request for more information on the case.

"OIG's investigation into the matter referenced in your request remains active and open as of this date," Ranowsky wrote. "Disclosure of any portion of the records at this time could interfere with the ongoing OIG investigation by revealing prematurely the direction and scope of the investigation, as well as the nature and extent of evidence collected to date."

Ranowsky denied a separate request for the now-retired secretary's name. "Because this matter is still under active investigation, the FOIA office cannot release the name of the former Amtrak employee in response to your request," she wrote.

The DEA's apparent ploy to hog forfeited assets is likely to reverberate in Congress.

Top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter to DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart on Thursday demanding more information.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., a vocal critic of Leonhart, tells U.S. News a leadership shake-up is needed at the DEA.

“This is another reason why DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart needs to resign,” Cohen said in an emailed statement. “Her department has misplaced priorities and appears to be running amok.”