The lead investigator charged with reviewing the 2012 Secret Service prostitution scandal resigned after being implicated in a case of his own, according to officials, the New York Times reported.
According to the Times, Florida police observed investigator David Nieland enter a building they had under surveillance as part of a prostitution investigation, current and former department officials briefed on the situation said. Sheriff’s deputies in Broward County later spoke with a prostitute who identified Nieland in a photograph and said he had paid her for sex.
Nieland denied the charges in an email to the Times, saying "the allegation is not true."
A member of the U.S. Secret Service stands watch as U.S. President Barack Obama departs the White House October 1, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Nevertheless, he resigned following the allegations, refusing to answer questions about the incident to the Department of Homeland Security inspector general, officials said, according to the Times.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security inspector general could not comment on the details of the case, but told the Times that officials “became aware in early May of this year of an incident in Florida that involved one of our employees.”
“While the law prohibits us from commenting on specific cases, we do not tolerate misconduct on the part of our employees and take such allegations very seriously,” spokesman William O. Hillburg told the Times. “When we receive information of such misconduct, we will investigate thoroughly, and, during the course of or at the conclusion of such an investigation, we have a range of options available to us, including administrative suspension and termination.”
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