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Subscribe to RSSA married Secret Service agent who died Saturday was facing administrative review for an alleged affair with a foreign citizen, officials tell NBC News. Local law enforcement sources say the agent killed himself.
Rafael Prieto, assigned to the security detail for President Barack Obama, had acknowledged to U.S. officials that he had been having an affair for years with a woman from Mexico, sources told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the incident, the AP said.
A source with knowledge of the investigation told NBC News that one of the agents entangled in the prostitution scandal in Cartagena, Colombia, alerted the agency that Prieto was allegedly having the affair.
"Rafael Prieto had a distinguished 20-year career with the Secret Service that was marked by accomplishment, dedication, and friendships," spokesman Ed Donovan said in a statement. "The Secret Service is mourning the loss of a valued colleague."
A source with knowledge of the investigation told NBC News that Prieto was facing an administrative review, and that he was not under investigation for espionage or passing information to a foreign contact and was not under investigation by the Secret Service Office of Professional Responsibility.
Failing to disclose such a relationship would be a violation of the agency's administrative rules, not a crime, the AP reported.
Prieto was serving on the protective detail for Obama, though he was not on duty at the time of his suicide, the AP said. As recently as 2009, he was identified as the resident agent in charge at the Secret Service's office in White Plains, N.Y. He had worked for the Secret Service for 22 years. He was 47, according to public records.
Prieto's apparent cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning. He was found in his car with the engine running. His death was being investigated by Metropolitan Police in Washington and the medical examiner's office.
The behavior of Secret Service agents and officers has come under scrutiny since 13 employees were implicated in a prostitution scandal in Cartagena, Colombia, in April.
Those employees were in Caribbean resort city in advance of Obama's arrival for a South American summit. After a night of heavy partying in some of Cartagena's bars and clubs, the employees brought women, including prostitutes, back to the hotel where they were staying. The incident became public after one agent refused to pay a prostitute and argued with her in the hotel hallway. Prieto was never in Colombia during the scandal.
Eight of those Secret Service employees have been forced out of the agency, three were cleared of serious misconduct and at least two employees are fighting to get their jobs back.
The scandal prompted Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan to issue a new code of conduct that barred employees from drinking within 10 hours of the start of a shift or bringing foreigners to their hotel rooms.
This article includes reporting from NBC News' Kristen Welker and The Associated Press.
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Funny how this, the Ho'gate in Columbia, and the GSA scandals all happened under Obama. Must be part of that hip hop da' Prez be all up in da whitehouse, an' if he had a son he'd look like Trayvon. I hope this ends in January.
Gosh, I had so wanted to be the first with a tasteless and vulgar politically orientated comment. I guess better luck next time for praying on unfortunate human frailty and tragedy.
Gee, wazoo2u, racist much? Like you, I hope this ends in January - and by "this" I mean the kind of gratuitous, hateful, bigoted crap coming out of your pie hole. A Black guy got elected president, get over it already.
It could end for you in January...but I believe the world would be a better place if it ended for you today. Can you take a hint ;)
Here, just for you.
But if you feel this is big enough to blow the elections right out you run with it girl. :)
What will end in January is the republicans delusion that they can sell America their faith-based snake oil that would take us back to the 50's, the notion that all they need is an empty suit that can "hold a pen," trickle down economics, their belief that the office of the POTUS can be bought... you got it?
Not going to end in January, he will be president again, so get over it.
He was a secret service agent for 22 years and he just started getting some strange when Obama took office. You're pathetic.
Sounds to me like a bitter agent who wanted to take everybody down with him, what a jerk,
Found Agent Prieto wife here and here
Oh, yeah, like no employee of the Secret Service during any other president had an affair????? I am sure that is true, LOL. Stupid people will think that....
So..............the Secret Services is not so secret after all.
His death is suspicious on the face of it.
Maybe he knew something Obama (if that is his name) didn't want made public ever !
This is sad to end life like that. What he did is no different then the 50s to the 90s US Navy young men in the PI. I would tell my shipmates don't get married because you both are going to cheat I had seen it happen a lot.
That's not sad, its stupidity..................Could have just hide out in Mexico for the rest of his life. If you have the conscious to cheat, why have the shame to die?
Ah, yes, good old Phillipines, best liberty port in Pacific! Over 40,000 military vets, mostly Navy, living there now in their retired years. Heaven on earth.
It shows how an off the cuff coment can wreck a man's life. But if the agent who mentioned his affair around headquarters was the same one who refused to pay for prostitution in Colombia, how did he, or she, know about Prieto's affair? But he can't issue himself a license to kill himself by running his car in a hurricane, where's the suicide note? Unless he's going underground with death faking drugs. Whatever happened to the Los Alamos Hard Drive comes to mind, but suicide would be part of a more ancient curse, the curse of atomic research, perhaps, not the Scarlet Pimpernel.
This is wild. Awesome wild.
The rantings of a raving mad man.
This guy had more issues going on than just the affair.
So much for the psychological screening though.
I agree. Theis Secret Service Agent was a real nut case. It was good he terminated his life and will save the expense of a trial for his misconduct. But the biggest benefit of his death is he will no longer be a threat to innocent people where he is like James Bond with a license to kill.
I do not hate police as there are many fine officers throughout Europe, Asia South America, Canada and the Pacific. Just not in the US wgere the FBI and other police agencies hired the head and most of Germany's Gestapo to train and model out police forces. I was raped by a cop when I was 12. My uncle murgered by two cops as he read hs newspaper on his front porch, they simply walked up and shot him dead and left. A cop Captain that lived across the street from me beat his wife and kids and his wife used the squad car for shopping, but was not a licensed driver. Need I continue? Every criminal who ever has harmed me carried a gun and a badge.
jennifer
"Failing to disclose such a relationship would be a violation of the agency's administrative rules, not a crime,"
What trial?
"I do not hate police as there are many fine officers throughout Europe, Asia South America, Canada and the Pacific."
Sure, have you even been to any of those places? You might want to think twice about cops in any of the asian countries..........It's common pratice to bribe police officers in India to get out of a minor offense, yep those cops are upstanding officiers alright.
JenniferRBG : A true product of Political Correctness.
It is sad that this appears to have been caused by a vindictive fellow employee. It is also a shame that the agent did not follow administrative policy concerning his personal conduct. I especially feel sorry for his wife. As the metaphor goes, don't do the crime , if you cannot do the time. Don't cheat unless you can accept the negative effects of disclousure.
Bill Clinton is still alive. He never gave a siht.
Most men in positions of power cheat on their wives. My boss certainly does. What happened to Clinton was an old fashioned partisan witch hunt; the "crime" was irrelevant.
Sounds like the vetting process has gone to the dogs at the SS. They'd better clean house at the SS because, our enimies know they have a "in". Through "honey pots and booze" the folks that would do us harm. Know they could extract information or get close to the President.
Also, the powers that be had better develop counter intellegence, so situations like this NEVER happen again.
Just like those worthless Government employees. A few get caught doing illegal crap, they rat each other out. It's a free for all at that point. No telling how many are involved, they are all like a bunch of little kids. "well Jimmy had an affair, and Timmy has a hooker, and Rafael was doing Mary".....blah blah blah.
This case reminds me of the movie "Harsh Times".
Stop attending movies !
Another example of someone who should have never been hired into law enforcement!! Watch they will bury him when honors!
Glad to see so many mentally stable secret service agents guarding our president. Who's guarding the hen house??? Looks like the sex starved secret service department needs a democratic supervisor. Looks as if the republican party now knows where the weakness is in protecting the president and may use it to their advantage. If I were president I would have all republican secret service agents removed from their jobs and send them with the other 1000 republican secret service agents to guard the Bush clan. The citizens of the US are about to witness the most corrupt presidential election they will every see. With the republican party able to pass laws in all states to suppress the votes of the sick, the elderly, the poor and anyone of color. This election has a smell of dirty money and the citizens of the US are unwilling or unable to see that the 1%ers are again going to relieve them of more money with new laws to protect the 1% and the supreme court will be behind them.
Take off the hat man.
Wow - the vindictive judges are up early this morning. This man had a 22 year career with the Secret Service. He was 47 when he died. We do not know from this story if he had children or not, I'll assume he did. I hope his children don't see these comments. We know NOTHING about this man except for where he worked, the probable possibility that he had an affair and that he is alleged to have committed suicide.
I'm sure his family and friends are in shock at his loss. Until a report comes out (which I doubt it will) that he was a horrible agent, wife abuser, etc (as some are saying all agents are), I think, I'll just say this is a tragedy - for the agent and his family!
Typical man.
Willing to risk EVERYTHING to diddle his pole.....yet not man enough to deal with the consequences.
You sound like you could use a good diddlin' yourself, blond coyote.
I send my sympathies to his family. The Secret Service seems to have the attitude that anything goes. Maybe from watching the people they protect? I met a secret service agent who was trying to tell me he was in the uniformed services so he could get in free to a museum. The museum offers this to Active military during the summer. I told him in no uncertain terms that he was not part of the active military and that the only thing they do is protect the president and chase after counterfeiters, and not very well. I thought he was going to go off on me. Maybe they are shooting juice to keep physcially fit.
Not a way to die, when there is help out there. But some of the demons within some are just too over powering. RIP
My guess is that the men (and women) in the Secret Service are the same as men (and women) in all jobs. They live, they love, they work, they play, they cheat, they lie, they drink, they live honest lives, . . . I have worked a lot of jobs over the years and people are the same everywhere! To suggest that just because they are an employee of the Government they are somewhat less that the rest of the American People in general is simply wrong. They are human beings just the same as us. Some rotten apples, and the vast majority dedicated to their work and world.
I get so tired of you sickening judgmental people. I am thankful that the trolls and their stupid opinions on here do not represent the majority of outstanding Americans!
all i can say is i swear.
what is the meaning of the word secret anyway?
The almighty PENIS. Doesn't sound like it was worth it to me. RIP
Be glad you don't have one. Testosterone is a hell of a hormone.
He got snitched by one of his own...In my little piece of the world, snitches are a dying breed!!!
RFFN!!!
What a travesty. That kind of sexual tension (s), have been going on since forever. Too bad he couldn't face his truths. Not judging, just saying. RIP. While those who love you, never will. Jeanne
Personally I think this is all just a cover up. He probably knew something that would screw up Obama being re-elected. Obama will stop at NOTHING to get whatever he wants.
You have described it correctly.
Carbon monoxide leaves nothing to track... no finger prints on the bullet,(slug or casing) no DNA on anything. He is free this murderer.
This is a low cost murder because it could happen to anyone.
The more lethal drugs, such as the ones that killed Breitbart would leave a suspicion of government interest .
Nothing to see here folks move along. Case closed.
Next !