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Travel credit-card data for about 80,000 Justice Department employees went missing early last month from an Omega World Travel office in Fairfax, Va. The FBI and the Virginia State Police are investigating.

According to Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona, the credit-card data was on a computer that disappeared between the late afternoon of May 7 and the morning of May 9. She said it is not known whether the computer was stolen; there has been no suspect activity on the cards.

The missing data included names, travel-card account numbers and expiration dates. Social Security numbers and personal addresses were not on the missing computer. Talamona said the department does not provide Omega World Travel with the type of information that could be used in identity theft.

The cards are issued to agency employees by J.P. Morgan Chase bank and its subsidiary, Bank One.

Joan Meagher, an Omega spokeswoman, referred inquiries to the Justice Department. Omega World Travel provides services to more than 100,000 government travelers, according to Meagher.

Talamona said that once the data was found missing, the banks began monitoring the 80,000 accounts. She said the cards will not be canceled immediately because employees still are traveling. Cards will be canceled if there is suspicious activity, and employees are asked to monitor statements for charges they did not make.

"It's been two and a half weeks, and there has been no indication that there has been any improper activity on the cards," Talamona said. "We're going to work with J.P. Morgan Chase to ensure that there's an orderly transition to new accounts."

While it is unknown for sure exactly what happened to the computer containing the data, Omega Travel has added additional security procedures at their Fairfax office, including off hours building and ground security controls.

About six months ago, Bank of America misplaced government charge-card account information for about 1.2 million government workers, including several members of Congress. Those tapes have not yet been discovered.

Convicted Special Agent

A 20-year Federal Protective Service veteran was convicted by a jury in San Francisco for falsifying records in a federal investigation, according to a U.S. Attorney's office.

Charles H. Jackson of Phoenix, Ariz., was found guilty of writing a false report in an attempt to hide wrongdoing committed by a fellow FPS officer.

The federal jury deliberated for one day after a weeklong trial in the courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel. Jackson, a 51-year-old FPS special agent, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervision.

Jackson, also culpable for making false statements in connection with an investigation that resulted in the wrongful 6-day imprisonment of a San Francisco man, was the criminal investigator on the scene of a San Francisco police shooting on Feb. 15, 2003.

Arriving after an unlawful police chase by two FPS officers, Jackson collaborated with the pair, Peter Taoy and John Hair, to file a false report that included attempted murder charges against the man they chased, Jeffrey Petri.

The FBI started investigating the incident after security cameras revealed inconsistencies in the officers' statements. Jackson was then reassigned to the FPS office in Phoenix.

The probe revealed that the officers had illegally chased Petri. Taoy and Hair later admitted to lying about the incident in a guilty plea in November 2004. The officers began chasing Petri after he ran a red light near a federal building. Once the chase ended, Taoy shot one of Petri front tires out and claimed that Petri tried to run him over.

In Jackson's report, he attempted to conceal Haire's involvement, according U.S. Attorney's office of the Northern District of California. His attempt to blame the incident on Taoy failed. Both officers ultimately were fired from the FPS and await sentencing on federal criminal civil rights charges filed on behalf of Petri.

COMMENTS

• Agent Jackson, was assigned to the FBI's JTTF unit in Phoenix, AZ when i first met him on a case. He wanted then to lie and cover up wrong doing in our agency and fraud. He and FBI Agent Mark Wertz both were dishonest and corrupt. I reported them to both OPR at FBI and USA in DC. They let it fall in silence until S/A B. Actkison of the Public Corruption unit got involved. The JTTF unit in Phoenix tried to conceal corruption in the ranks. Scott Posted February 25, 2008 10:07 AM