Three Secret Service agents to leave over scandal

Three Secret Service employees are to leave the agency over the sex scandal in Colombia which has tarnished the elite presidential protection agency's image, an official statement said Wednesday. One "supervisory" employee will retire over the allegations that agents consorted with prostitutes, another has been told he will be sacked and a third "non-supervisory" employee has resigned, said Paul Morrissey, of the service's Office and Government and Public Affairs. Morrissey said that the investigation into the alleged scandal were still at an early stage, and that eight other agents remained under investigation, in a process which included the use of polygraph lie detector technology. Eleven agents and at least 10 military personnel are accused of bringing prostitutes to a hotel in the Colombian resort of Cartagena where President Barack Obama was attending a summit last weekend. "We demand that all of our employees adhere to the highest professional and ethical standards and are committed to a full review of this matter," Morrissey said. Specifically, one employee was allowed to retire from the Secret Service, and another had filed for retirement. One other employee had been told he would be sacked, but has a 30-day statutory notice period and can obtain legal counsel, the statement said.