The "trusted friend" is certainly not to be trusted. At a minimum that person was not in a position to report anything to the FAA because any information would

The "trusted friend" is certainly not to be trusted. At a minimum that person was not in a position to report anything to the FAA because any information would have been hear-say. The FAA should have declined the information as being from a third party who wasn't directly involved and thus isn't in the position to report comprehensively.