"The hair stood up on the back of my neck. There's two of them!"
August 17, 2016 1:27 PM Subscribe
Stealing Bitcoins with Badges: How Silk Road’s Dirty Cops Got Caught. Ars Technica explores the investigation into two federal agents/contemporaries who were, unbeknownst to one another, simultaneously robbing the online drug marketplace they were tasked with bringing down.
Previously, WIRED details the history of the Silk Road and the arrest of "Dread Pirate Roberts" AKA Ross Ulbricht, published right after the two agents had been indicted.
Previouslier, Ulbricht's trial concludes. He goes to the pokey for 30-to-life.
Previousliest, more on the many, many mistakes the Silk Road made.
Previously, WIRED details the history of the Silk Road and the arrest of "Dread Pirate Roberts" AKA Ross Ulbricht, published right after the two agents had been indicted.
Previouslier, Ulbricht's trial concludes. He goes to the pokey for 30-to-life.
Previousliest, more on the many, many mistakes the Silk Road made.
This was a great article! It really does have all the makings of a movie or miniseries.
After reading the article in this FPP, I went back to re-read the initial Wired story. One thing that jumped out at me, but which only seems to be referenced in passing in the Ars Technica article, is Force's undercover work. The Wired article goes into more depth about his primary cover identity for the Silk Road bust, as well as the fact that he started out as an undercover agent infiltrating drug rings.
For example:
He enjoyed getting deep into the culture of Silk Road. It reminded him of his undercover days. He thought about DPR, living a double life, and the allure—and danger—of taking on a new identity.
Force had seen it firsthand in his years in undercover. He came to love being that criminal operator big shot. But a new self comes with a price. The more Force pretended and partied, the easier it was to inhabit the part. At home he was the clean-cut, churchgoing dad. But when he was at some nightclub hunting for drug deals, liquor flowing, surrounded by girls, it was hard to believe just how comfortable he felt.
Although there have certainly been plenty of corrupt law enforcement agents without that kind of background, I can definitely see how someone starting out with that kind of perspective would be more likely to go on and do what Force appears to have done during and after the Silk Road bust.
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:36 PM on August 17, 2016
After reading the article in this FPP, I went back to re-read the initial Wired story. One thing that jumped out at me, but which only seems to be referenced in passing in the Ars Technica article, is Force's undercover work. The Wired article goes into more depth about his primary cover identity for the Silk Road bust, as well as the fact that he started out as an undercover agent infiltrating drug rings.
For example:
He enjoyed getting deep into the culture of Silk Road. It reminded him of his undercover days. He thought about DPR, living a double life, and the allure—and danger—of taking on a new identity.
Force had seen it firsthand in his years in undercover. He came to love being that criminal operator big shot. But a new self comes with a price. The more Force pretended and partied, the easier it was to inhabit the part. At home he was the clean-cut, churchgoing dad. But when he was at some nightclub hunting for drug deals, liquor flowing, surrounded by girls, it was hard to believe just how comfortable he felt.
Although there have certainly been plenty of corrupt law enforcement agents without that kind of background, I can definitely see how someone starting out with that kind of perspective would be more likely to go on and do what Force appears to have done during and after the Silk Road bust.
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:36 PM on August 17, 2016
That was a super interesting article. Stylistically, it was the most straightforward non fiction piece I've read in a while. It's the aesthetic opposite of a New Yorker article, which I found incredibly refreshing. Variety is the spice of Long Reads.
posted by latkes at 10:17 PM on August 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by latkes at 10:17 PM on August 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yeah, this is tremendo interesting. I've been wanting to comment but it's so WTFy that I don't know what to say.
posted by Bugbread at 12:00 AM on August 18, 2016
posted by Bugbread at 12:00 AM on August 18, 2016
a dishonest cop? why i never
posted by entropicamericana at 6:27 AM on August 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 6:27 AM on August 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
latkes: Stylistically, it was the most straightforward non fiction piece I've read in a while. It's the aesthetic opposite of a New Yorker article, which I found incredibly refreshing.
Thank you for this; I wouldn't have read the article without seeing your comment. I avoid "long form" articles any more because every reporter seems to think they're a repressed novelist and that anything longer than a paragraph should be infuriatingly post-modern. Having an article that runs through the facts and presents the story in chronological order is a breath of fresh air.
posted by fader at 7:30 AM on August 18, 2016 [5 favorites]
Thank you for this; I wouldn't have read the article without seeing your comment. I avoid "long form" articles any more because every reporter seems to think they're a repressed novelist and that anything longer than a paragraph should be infuriatingly post-modern. Having an article that runs through the facts and presents the story in chronological order is a breath of fresh air.
posted by fader at 7:30 AM on August 18, 2016 [5 favorites]
So from the article I followed a link back to a previous article about how investigators had figured out Ross Ulbricht was the guy running Silk Road and found this quote:
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 7:34 PM on August 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
What an awesome thread!" wrote altoid. "You guys have a ton of great ideas. Has anyone seen Silk Road yet? It's kind of like an anonymous amazon.com. I don't think they have heroin on there, but they are selling other stuff. They basically use bitcoin and tor to broker anonymous transactions."If Ross Ulbricht had been a Metafilter user in 2007 he'd probably be a free man today.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 7:34 PM on August 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's like everyone who touches Bitcoins is magically transported into a Coen Brothers movie....
And.... now I want some bitcoins.
posted by rokusan at 2:19 AM on August 20, 2016
And.... now I want some bitcoins.
posted by rokusan at 2:19 AM on August 20, 2016
Do not seek the treasure! It's a bushwhack!
posted by entropicamericana at 6:25 AM on August 20, 2016
posted by entropicamericana at 6:25 AM on August 20, 2016
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