21.   Brown blames the sting operation for a heart problem and stroke he later suffered, and said the undercover investigation harmed him physically, emotionally and financially.

22.   But First Assistant US Attorney Mark W. Pearlstein defended the sting operation and the prosecution.

23.   But Chicago mounted its sting operation against gun dealers on the basis of gun-tracing data collected in recent years.

24.   But field agents tried to run a sting operation against Lee.

25.   But months of sting operations have failed to incriminate the sergeant and other officers, law-enforcement officials said.

26.   But law-enforcement groups and others who support the sting operations say such concerns are overwrought.

27.   But that company was a dummy corporation set up as part of a sting operation by the Customs Service.

28.   But some legal ethicists believe the problem has been exaggerated and that sting operations raise questions about whether the public interest is being served.

29.   But Traficant acted as his own lawyer, saying he took bribes as part of his own sting operation.

30.   But when things got out of control in their neighborhood, Amy Hiss and Kathy Maio teamed up for a bona fide sting operation, with full police backing.