According to the Associated Press, the DEA spent nearly 20 years buying confidential passenger information from an Amtrak employee in an effort to screw over the railroad behemoth.

The employee, identified only as a "secretary to a train and engine crew," apparently began selling confidential information about Amtrak passengers to the agency in 1995.

The information—which includes names, credit card numbers, emergency contacts, itineraries, and baggage information—-could have been obtained for free, had the DEA formally requested it through legal channels.

But the DEA instead reportedly paid off the employee so that it wouldn't have to share any money seized during drug arrests with the Amtrak police department.

According to the ACLU, the Amtrak police department typically takes 10 percent of recovered cash when its information leads to an arrest.

The AP reports that the employee was recently allowed to quietly retire and was not subject to any administrative discipline.

[image via AP]