MIchael Curtiss Hovey Investigation File • MuckRock

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Communications

From: Natalie St. John

09/10/2021

Subject: Freedom of Information Act Request: MIchael Curtiss Hovey Investigation File

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Please provide all existing materials related the investigation of Michael Curtiss Hovey, DOB 12/17/1962.
Hovey was a chemist at DuPont's chemical research facility in Wilmington, Delaware who was arrested for manufacturing methamphetamines and 3-methylfentanyl. At the time, it was a precedent-setting drug bust that received nationwide media attention.
The investigation was initiated on or about October 29, 1985. The agents in charge were William "Bill" Glanz and William Robert "Bob" Boulden, both of the Wilmington resident Office. Hovey was arrested on December 15, 1985. He pleaded guilty in early January 1986. The case was significant because later investigation revealed that, while DEA had temporarily scheduled the analogue Hovey manufactured, they did not have the legal authority to do so, because the Attorney General had not properly delegated scheduling authority to DEA. Therefore, US District Court determined upon appeal that Hovey was convicted for manufacturing a drug that had not actually been scheduled. His conviction was overturned and released. This was one of several similar cases around the same time that led DEA to change some practices and schedule new analogues, so there is very likely correspondence or other types of action related to the case. Hovey was killed in an armed standoff with state agents in September 1989. So I would not expect there to be any materials related to him after 1989. He is deceased and there were no other suspects involved in the case.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or thumb drive if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Natalie St. John

From: Drug Enforcement Administration

09/13/2021

Subject: DEA FOIA/PA Case Number: 21-00648-F

Good afternoon, Ms. St. John: This is to acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act (FOIA/PA) request by the Drug Enforcement Administration, FOIA/PA Section. This response is a courtesy reply. It does not replace the acknowledgement letter that will be sent to you once your request has been reviewed by our Intake Unit. Please note, requests are handled in the order they are received. We will advise you if any additional information is required. Please be advised, due to necessary operational changes as a result of the national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, there may be some delay in the processing of your request. You may wish to visit DEA’s public facing website at or the FOIA Library available at (http://www.dea.gov/) www.dea.gov to determine if the information you seek is already available to the public. (https://www.dea.gov/foia/foia-library) https://www.dea.gov/divisions/dea-foia-library You may contact our FOIA Public Liaison at (571) 776-3139 for any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, Room 2510, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at (202) 741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at (202) 741-5769. If you have any questions regarding this email, you may contact our FOIA Requester Service Center at (571) 776-2300. Thank you for your patience as we work to complete the processing of your request. Sincerely, Jennifer M Coreas-Chavez FOIA/PA Specialist
Intake Unit FOIA/PA Section Drug Enforcement Administration Telephone: (571) 776-3261 E-mail: Jennifer.M.CoreasChavez@dea.gov PRIVACY ACT NOTICE: This e-mail (including any attachments herein) may contain personal andprivileged information that requires protection in compliance with the PrivacyAct of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a). Any useof this information by anyone other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you have received this communication inerror, please immediately delete all copies of this information and notify meby e-mail. The use, dissemination,distribution, or reproduction of this communication by unintended recipients innot authorized and may be unlawful.

From: Muckrock Staff

10/13/2021

Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Act Request #21-00648-F

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 10, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #21-00648-F.