Imagine joining the Secret Service thinking you're going to be a "hero" protecting the president and then you get some desk job following the paper trail of some common thief (exceptional thief). I'm sure it's happened more than once or twice.

That I doubt. It's not exactly a snap hiring decision.

There's also a very valid argument to be made that drug money isn't even dirty. The laws surrounding the War On Drugs are far more offensive and exploitative than drug-dealing itself.

This is very refreshing to hear. I've never been sold by the idea that money can be "tainted" by the commerce in which it's been involved.

Ditto for the "heroic" creativity of netting Al Capone for tax evasion. That's just another way of saying his guilt for other things wasn't proven.