Posted on 08/11/2015 9:32:18 AM PDT by Half Vast Conspiracy
Today, The Heritage Foundation releases “Arresting Your Property: How Civil Asset Forfeiture Turns Police Into Profiteers.” This booklet highlights the important problem of civil asset forfeiture and tells lawmakers how states and the federal government can help fix these broken laws.
The booklet reveals the dark side of civil forfeiture, where the government seizes your property without ever convicting you of, or even charging you with, a crime, and then keeps the profits for its own coffers. Here are nine such examples:
1. Georgia—Iraq War veteran Andrew Clyde owns a small gun shop armory in Athens, Ga. In April 2013, the IRS seized nearly $1 million from the company’s bank account. Without any prior warning, two IRS agents showed up at his work with a seizure warrant.
2. Iowa—In Spirit Lake, Iowa, Carole Hinders owned and operated her restaurant, Mrs. Lady’s Mexican Food, for nearly 40 years. In August 2013, through a secret warrant and with no warning, the federal government seized Carole’s entire bank account—nearly $33,000.
3. Michigan—At the Contemporary Art Institute in Detroit, Mich., in 2008, a fun night out at a “Funk Night” event for 130 attendees morphed into a scene out of an action movie. Armor-clad police stormed the party with their guns drawn, forced attendees to the floor and seized 40 vehicles from those in attendance.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailysignal.com ...
5. New York—For 27 years, brothers Jeffrey, Richard and Mitch Hirsch ran Bi-County Distributor Inc., a small business that sold candy, snacks and cigarettes to local convenience stores. In May 2012, three family business bank accounts totaling more than $446,000 were seized by the IRS.
6. Pennsylvania—In March 2014, police arrested Chris and Markela Sourovelis’ son for selling $40 worth of heroin to an undercover police officer. Soon after the arrest, the Philadelphia Police Department raided their home, SWAT-style with guns drawn, and found small amounts of the drug in their 22-year-old son’s bedroom.
7. Texas—Between 2006 and 2008, Tenaha, Texas, established itself as a hotbed for civil forfeiture abuse. Tenaha Police executed dozens of traffic stops in which vast sums of money and property were seized, though no criminal charges were filed against drivers or passengers.
8. Virginia—In November 2012, Victor Guzman, a Pentecostal church secretary originally from El Salvador, and his brother-in-law were stopped for speeding near Emporia, Va., on Interstate 95. The Virginia State Trooper did not issue them a ticket, nor did he charge them with a crime.
9. Wisconsin—In Brown County, Wis., Joel Greer was arrested by the County Drug Task Force, with bail set at $7,500.
9 times?
They steal from me on a daily basis. Every week as evidence of my raped paycheck.
The government doesn’t like the Bill of Rights, so it makes up a nice-sounding name and trashes the constitution.
I’ve always said we should be governed by the Mafia, they are more honest......................
And the mob would let you keep more of your earnings.
Some of those summaries don’t make sense, so I encourage folks to read the full article at the link. America is no longer a land of the free, and government corruption is growing worse.
If I had 3 years of empty time maybe each case could be reviewed. One is a kid selling heroin (sorry no sympathy for this one)
The other especially the small business I bet hid and did not report cash transactions.
All I am saying is not enough details to make a sound judgment.
Reminds me of the Star Trek episode “A Piece of the Action”, with Vic Tayback.................
Re>I’ve always said we should be governed by the Mafia, they are more honest
LOL my local bookie paid 700 to 1 on daily number tax free. The state can only muster 500 : 1 but taxable if win is over $ 5000.00. Then they take 25% minimum.
That was a classic.
My favorite episode....................
The government giveth and the government taketh away..............usually more of the latter than the former..............
Oh, I think we can make a sound judgment. Thou shall not steal. But government steals on a daily basis. As one poster at the site noted:
"They devour everything in sight without regard to right or wrong. Governments were instituted among men to GUARANTEE AND PROTECT our rights, not destroy them."
The heroin kid is not the issue. It’s the mom. She had a right to bring cash for bail and it was taken for no reason. Most of the others are certain: the courts cleared them, but it took a long time. Why defend this overreach?
If I had 3 years of empty time maybe each case could be reviewed.
You might need more than three years. You haven’t even grasped the facts stated in the article linked above. One is a kid selling heroin (sorry no sympathy for this one)
No. It was the PARENTS of a kid selling heroin.
C'mon, Heritage even put part of the pamphlet in comic book style for you.
Arresting your property: How civil asset forfeiture turns police into profiteers..
The Feds used to have to publish notifications of civil asset forfeitures in a national print publication. Several days a week, the Wall Street Journal would print page after page of such notifications in the smallest possible font.
Now there are so many such cases that the Feds can just post notifications online.
I grew up on the bad side of town. I know why they passed these laws. Many in my neighborhood became high paid drug dealers. I agree TOTALLY that it has been abused. The original intent was good but in America today, sadly corruption pays and our laws are twisted from good laws to bad.
Then convict them of the crime and make forfeiture a punishment. This BS about convicting the property but not the individual is incoherent gobbeldygook at best. How the courts have managed to twist due process to look like this vomit is beyond me. If they aren’t found guilty of a crime their property should not be forfeit.
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