Pa.: Philly Police 'Slush Fund' for Seized Assets

Real Clear Investigations / Philadelphia Weekly ^ | 21 Sept, 2917 | NewslettersInvestigationsDonationsMore Pa.: Philly Police 'Slush Fund' for Seized Assets Max Ma

[MtnClimber]

When Philadelphia police use civil asset forfeiture to seize millions in cash, cars, and homes every year, the money is put into secretive municipal bank accounts. Long-hidden documents reveal what happened to at least some of the money. It went for submachine guns, outboard motors and "tens of thousands in mysterious cash withdrawals over the past five years." Some $5 million is unnaccounted for, this investigation reckons.

From Philadelphia Weekly:

Attorneys at the Virginia-based nonprofit depict civil asset forfeiture as one of the greatest threats to property rights in the nation today. Under the Trump administration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has sought to expand the practice's already widespread use. In 2014, federal authorities notoriously seized $5 billion – more than was reported stolen in burglaries nationwide, according to FBI data. Meanwhile, big cities like Philadelphia continue cultivate their own forfeiture juggernauts with little scrutiny.

As part of a potentially historic settlement with the plaintiffs, city lawyers have offered to radically restructure forfeiture spending to support drug treatment programs over law enforcement spending.

[MtnClimber]

Maybe all of the government employees can have their assets seized under RICCO laws.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Well at least they're not bombing housing tenements from a helicopter anymore. You've got to give them credit for that don't you?

[gaijin]

[Steely Tom]

Hey it was only one bomb.

[gaijin]

[Edward.Fish]

Well at least they're not bombing housing tenements from a helicopter anymore.

Wait, what?
I'm unfamiliar w/ the reference… what happened?

[gaijin]

There were black militants “M.O.V.E.” barricaded in a weird house.

Cops told them to come out, they wouldn’t.

Cops got in helicopter, took bomb overhead of crazy black house, dropped bomb.

Burned down 65 homes, killed 11 people.

I was just a little kid, but I still remember it being in the news, everyone being amazed.

[IWontSubmit]

Blood sucking bureauc.rats ....

TWANLOC

[2ndDivisionVet]

Why Have So Many People Never Heard Of The MOVE Bombing?
http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/05/18/407665820/why-did-we-forget-the-move-bombing

[Albion Wilde]

They weren't tenements. They were nice, if a bit older, single-family rowhomes.

[Edward.Fish]

Thank you for the info.

Why Have So Many People Never Heard Of The MOVE Bombing?

Probably because it's one of the situations that shows the government objectively in the wrong; I've noticed this about a lot of the high-profile government-involved controversies:

1. Wako, TX / Branch Davidian — Allegations of child-molestation/-abuse arise when the issue of penetration and usage of flammable tear-gas arise, despite the original dispute being over taxes.
2. Ruby Ridge, ID — A clear case of entrapment and [eventually] conspiracy to commit murder, spun as government being in the right because they were crazy isolationists, that they had to enforce gun-laws [which were ambiguous, and which were part of the entrapment], and they had the right to retaliate against federal agents being shot [despite that being a case of self defense].
3. Bundy Ranch — The ranchers spun as being flout-laws due to disputes on grazing-fees which, while being challenged in courts, federal agents went in and rustled-/killed their cattle (and thus undermined their ability to represent themselves in court).
4. The Organ Standoff / Finicum Murder — *screech*They were occupying a federal building!*screech* and They were armed! as justifications for the literal ambush. (IIRC, prior to the lethal shooting/roadblock there was a stop and shooting.)
5. The Unabomber — I seem to recall reports of an accomplice/co-conspirator that seemed to be swept under the rug; given how many people spend years and years on Death Row, it seems really odd how quickly he was put to death. / (There was a lot of hounding on the 19 children killed, IIRC.)
6. Sandy Hook — Lots of things don't add up there (the article Where's the Blood? points out hazmat cleanup is required by law, but no records of such a cleanup exist). The official report about how he shot so many people, so accurately, in such a short amount of time, while wearing such a heavy ballistic-vest [which are actually rather heavy and restrictive; contrary to portrayal on TV] while being so light [112 lbs; source] with no training strains belief.
7. The Building #7 and the Pentagon in 9/11 — Building #7 held a lot of interesting stuff, including Enron investigation documents and [IIRC] financial records; and the Pentagon held records. It's really interesting that both were hit the day after Rumsfeld says $2.3 TRILLION Missing from Pentagon. (I'm not saying the government did 9/11; but it's really convenient for a lot of corrupt people that those records were lost.)
8. The Hillary E-Mail Scandal — I believe the e-mail/leak was really the distraction here, from the Clinton Foundation and how deep its Pay-to-Play and Influence-peddling actually went. (The Iran Deal was credited to Hillary by Politico; source.) And the Iran Deal is observably/provably treason. The reason that the powers-that-be couldn't allow even an indictment would be because any examination of the e-mails would have revealed the links to the Clinton foundation [and the Treason of the Iran Deal (Remember If that f - - - ing bastard wins, we all hang from nooses!?)].
9. Remember how the 2011 NFL strike came about just when the information regarding the Fast And Furious gun-smuggling operation was set to go mainstream?

Simply stated: The more obviously wrong the situation is, the more the government tries to either bury it or muddy the waters.

[MurrietaMadman]

bomb bump

[riverrunner]

Because us older ones are dying off.

[Pecos]

Civil asset forfeiture is simply a thinly-disguised form of theft that requires no actual proof of wrong-doing by the person whose property is seized, and can be executed prior to any trial. Can ANYONE tell me how this fits inside the boundaries of the 4th Amendment and its (supposed) protection against unreasonable searches and seizures?

[Edward.Fish]

It doesn’t. Absolutely so.
It’s obvious to any person who looks at it, but the sad truth is that the law-schools are so corrupt that they indoctrinate their students into thinking that it’s acceptable as part of the “justice” system.