Problems Mount For U.S. Secret Service

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Three United States Secret Service agents were sent home from a presidential trip to the Netherlands over drinking concerns, but the scandal has ties to South Florida, according to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald.

Two agents, counter-sniper officers, wrecked a rental car in Islamorada and an FHP trooper said he detected a "slight odor of alcohol" on the agent driving, according to the Herald. The trooper didn't give a Breathalyzer or blood test because there was "no detection of impairment" observed.

The wreck happened roughly 12 hours before Obama arrived in South Florida for his recent speech at Coral Reef High School. The incidents in the Netherlands and the Keys follow an embarrassing 2012 scandal involving prostitutes and alcohol in Colombia.

Combined, the problems with the Secret Service is prompting a growing concern among politicians from both parties about the seriousness of the issues.

According to the Herald, Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary declined to comment on the details of the Netherlands incident or the Keys accident other than to say that "three employees were sent home (from Amsterdam) for disciplinary reasons" and that two "U.S. Secret Service personnel" were involved in the Keys accident.

Leary told the Herald, "They (the two agents) were not on duty at the time. Out of an abundance of caution, they were returned home to D.C. because of contact with police, pending police and traffic investigations."

A third incident involving Secret Service agents and problematic conduct occurred in October 2012 in downtown Miami. An agent was found passed out on a sidewalk in Miami and when police checked on him they described him as having bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and a strong odor of alcohol.

The agent involved was not prosecuted despite being arrested for disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest without violence.

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