Stolen Power Inside Washington

Behind those incidents are not faceless institutions, but flawed people making choices under pressure. Levita Almuete Ferrer did not need force to cause damage; she relied on trust. Each forged check and falsified entry was approved because colleagues believed the system worked, and that the person sitting beside them did too. Her addiction weaponized that faith, turning routine oversight into a blind spot that lasted years. The real cost was not just the missing funds, but the realization that a single insider can quietly unravel safeguards built for entire agencies.

In Newark, the bat-wielding intruder tried the opposite approach: terror in broad daylight. Yet his rapid capture showed that visible threats still trigger swift response. The quieter danger is the one that smiles, swipes a badge, and knows the passwords. Together, these cases reveal a hard truth: defending institutions now means scrutinizing both the doors we lock—and the people we already let in.