Ranking US Drug Enforcement officials passed secrets to cartels and used government drivers to hire prostitutes

Officials at a single U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency office in Bogota, Colombia have been investigated passing secrets to cartels and using government funds to hire prostitutes.

The Associated Press reported that the DEA's highest-ranking official in South America was accused of directing Colombian drivers who worked at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota "to procure sex workers," according to an anonymous complaint obtained by the wire service and comments by law enforcement officials.

Retiring DEA regional director Richard Dobrich denied that he was involved in any misconduct and called the complaint that named him a phony that could only be believed by a "complete idiot."

"There is nothing to this — zero," Dobrich told the AP in a statement. He added that the complaint was an "attempted assassination on my reputation" that could have been written by an angry ex-employee.

The AP noted that although prostitution is legal in Colombia, DEA officials are expressly forbidden from engaging in it by the Justice Department so the cartels they pursue won't have leverage against them.