Police chief, smelling a 'sting,' jumps first

Police Superintendent Joseph Walsh says that once he suspected he was the target of a federal sting operation, he decided he would not be the one who got stung. The suspicion proved valid and the strategy flawless as Mr. Walsh personally slapped the cuffs on an FBI operative allegedly given $5,000 to bribe the veteran police chief of Connecticut's largest city.

Calling it a politically inspired move to split the city's Democratic leadership, Walsh said he may file civil and criminal charges of entrapment against the government.

The FBI -- whose similar Abscam probe uncovered political corruption -- said the operation had been "approved and monitored by the US Department of Justice."