Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon (washingtonpost.com)

Google believes an administrative subpoena "compels" them to release customer information? Is that true? I thought that's only for judicial subpoenas.

The subject of the article signed his first and last name and was wondering how the officers tracked him down?

We don’t know his last name, but I think first and last name plus zip code is enough to uniquely identify a great many people.

Administrative subpoenas are enforceable, and are not secretive. They are a routine tool.

See Oklahoma Press Publishing Co. v. Walling and United States v. Morton Salt Co.

This has been routine and codified for 80 years.