“The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) paid out nearly $854,460 for private, personal information about Amtrak passengers that it could have otherwise obtained for free through its affliation with a joint drug enforcement task force. The Associated Press reports that the sum was paid out over the course of 20 years to an unnamed secretary working for a ‘train and engine crew.’ The unidentified informant has since been allowed to retire instead of facing administrative discipline. Transportation services like Amtrak collate passenger information like emergency contacts, passports, travel itineraries, and baggage details. The agency’s spokesperson Matt Barden has declined to comment.”
http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/12/5993983/dea-amtrak-passenger-information-fiasco