Opinion ID: 1744586
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the plan for arrest of john howell

Text: In October 1985, OPD Lt. Anthony Infantino met with OPD Officers James Alexander and Tom Martin and gave the officers a memo entitled Mission Impossiblean outline of an undercover plan designed by Police Lt. Timothy Dunning for surveillance and arrest of John Howell. Although Alexander and Martin were experienced narcotics and intelligence officers, Infantino assigned the officers to conduct a covert type surveillance in an attempt to arrest [John Howell] for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. John Howell had relatives who held political office, including his father, Sam Howell, Douglas County treasurer, and his brother-in-law, Michael Boyle, mayor of Omaha. Infantino told Alexander and Martin that the purpose of John Howell's arrest was to provide Howell's relatives with an opportunity to interfere with or obstruct the criminal justice process and that Infantino's superiors as well as the FBI knew about and approved the plan to arrest Howell. Pursuant to the plan and after surveillance of Howell for 8 hours each day during 7 days of surveillance, Alexander and Martin arrested Howell for drunk driving in October 1985. Howell's case went through the court system without incident and resulted in Howell's conviction and sentence for DWI, presumably in late 1985 or sometime in the forepart of 1986.