An attorney representing a man who is murdering accused of American Indian Movement activist Anna Mae Pictou Aquash want to know whether a Bureau of Indian Affairs official had an "improper relationship" with a female informant.

Bob Ecoffey, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, was a key investigator in the Aquash case. He served as a top law enforcement official at the BIA until June 2004 until he was reassigned to South Dakota.

Ecoffey is credited with helping bring indictments against three men who are accused of murdering Aquash in December 1975. But attorney Dana Hanna, who represents defendant Richard Marshall, says Ecoffey may have jeopardized the case by having a relationship with the informant, whose code name was "Maverick."

Ecoffey currently serves as superintendent for the BIA at Pine Ridge.

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Attorney seeks information on witnesses 'improper relationship' in AIM shooting case (The Rapid City Journal 4/1)

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