disinfozone/The_Info_Web
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull requests Projects Releases Packages Wiki Activity Actions

Fresh start from commit 85df488cc66fa4934e54d62f1eaeffd274743b7a

Browse source
This commit is contained in:
disinfo.zone 2025-08-05 00:33:58 -04:00
commit 2dffe9e0bb
1282 changed files with 19990 additions and 0 deletions
Download patch file Download diff file Expand all files Collapse all files

12
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Brian Leighton.md Normal file
View file

@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
[[Brian Leighton]] was a former Assistant [[United States Attorney|U.S. Attorney]] in Fresno, California. He was instrumental in prosecuting 29 members of a drug/arms organization known as "[[The Company]]."[^1]
Leighton's efforts against "The Company" were significant, and he was described as the most effective person in formulating a strategy within the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] to pursue this group. He was involved in a joint effort with prosecutors in Lexington, Kentucky, and Miami, Florida, to dismantle "The Company."[^1]
[[Michael Riconosciuto]] claimed to have provided Leighton with "valuable intelligence" on illegal drug activities and "The Company," stating that he had been instrumental in helping Leighton identify members of the organization and even led law enforcement officers to a marijuana cache belonging to its members. However, during Riconosciuto's trial, Leighton's testimony was evasive regarding their direct collaboration, and he stated he could not recall ever meeting Riconosciuto personally or speaking to him directly, only through a government agent.[^1]
Leighton reportedly retired from the [[United States Attorney|U.S. Attorney]]'s office shortly after the prosecutions against "The Company." [[Michael Riconosciuto]] speculated that Leighton was operating out of fear, noting that the prosecuting attorney in Florida involved in the case had been shot in the head. Riconosciuto also claimed that Leighton's prosecutions had only served to "vaccinate" "The Company" against further penetration, making them more resilient.[^1]
---
## Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.