Best of The Blotter 2006

Since its start in April of 2006, "The Blotter" has witnessed some big stories from a California native joining the leading ranks of al Qaeda to the FBI tapping into the spying power of cell phones.  And that was before then-Congressman Mark Foley resigned over his sexually explicit messages to former congressional pages.  Read about these and other "Best of the Blotter 2006" stories: FBI, Can you hear me now?: Back in May, ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross and ABC News reporter Richard Esposito were told by a senior federal law enforcement official that the government is tracking the phone numbers they call in an effort to root out confidential sources. (Read the full Blotter report, "Federal Source to ABC News: We Know Who You’re Calling.") Then fast forward seven months when  a criminal case involving members of the Genovese family showed the FBI has the technology to listen to everything you say, even when your cell phone is turned off. (Read the full Blotter report, "Can You Hear Me Now?")

American al Qaeda: California native turned al Qaeda leader Adam Gadahn showed his full face for the first time this past July.  From there, he went on to praise the 9/11 attacks on their fifth anniversary and make his debut on the FBI’s "Most Wanted Terrorists" list.  Beirut ER: As the Israeli-Lebanon conflict waged throughout the summer, "The Blotter" reported on the oil crisis facing the American University of Beirut Medical Center. For several weeks, the medical center, reputed as Lebanon’s biggest and most important hospital, waited as the tanker bringing it fuel was kept out of port by Israel’s fears the fuel would be used by Hezbollah.    Of course, former Congressman Mark Foley (R-Fla.): It started with some questionable e-mails to a former congressional page and ended with sexually explicit instant messages between the disgraced congressman and several former congressional pages.  Foley abruptly resigned, checked into a Tucson rehab center for an alcohol addiction, admitted through his lawyers that he is gay and  that he was sexually abused as a child by a priest in his family’s church.  Currently, he is under investigation by both the Justice Department and the state of Florida, but federal indictments are unlikely, according Justice Department officials. Nigerian E-mail Scams: Brian Ross and the Investigative Team set themselves up to be scammed by Nigerian con artists.  What the scammers didn’t know is that they were about to get a taste of their own medicine. From a parking lot outside Dulles International Airport to a hotel suite in New York to the crime-ridden streets of Lagos, Nigeria, Brian Ross went undercover and caught Nigerian e-mails scammers red-handed — a small dent in a industry that brings in about $1 billion a year.