Replies

You obviously have not been in the real world very long. I have seen stuff from airplanes, luxury cars, tractors, oil field equipment, boats, and houses paid for with cash. Lots and lots of people still use cash to purchase a myriad of things other than drugs.
Ever go to a doctor and arrange cash payment? I have and services cost me 1/3 what it would have with insurance or other payment methods.(not talking about just an office visit either.)
Worked in an auto dealership once. Farmer came in and bought a new Caddy for his wife. Had two pillowcases full of every US denomination up to 100's. Took us two hours to count out 23 grand for the Caddy plus taxes.
Just because somebody likes to pay with cash does not mean it was illegally nor the folks do anything illegal.
Even wealthy people from Mexico travel with lots of cash, they do not trust their own banking system.

Yesterday the Eighth Circuit summarily dismissed Gonzolez's story. It overturned a lower court ruling that had found no evidence of drug activity, stating, "We respectfully disagree and reach a different conclusion... Possession of a large sum of cash is 'strong evidence' of a connection to drug activity."

Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here

You obviously have not been in the real world very long.

I have been making reasonable arguments throughout, so please do me the courtesy of skipping the insults right now.

Cash transactions are one thing when the amount is not excessively large and the parties that one is dealing with are well-known or otherwise have verifiable, established ties to the community or local area. As a businessman, you are putting yourself at potential risk in two ways if you deal with just any Johnny-out-of-town with a duffel bag full of cash: you could end up hurting your own reputation and you could end up with legal or bureaucratic hassle later on down the road. One is running the risk that the purchaser acquired that large amount of cash in some illegitimate way; why put your hard-earned reputation at risk for someone you don't know?

Additionally, if word gets around that one deals with large amounts of cash, then that will increase one's risk for being a victim of either burglary or robbery. That seems like common sense; I'm surprised that no one has mentioned it before.

I'm sure that any of us here at Free Republic could, if we were facing the possible loss of $125 grand, be able to satisfactorily demonstrate that we came by that money honestly. You may say that one shouldn't have to, but the fact is, that if such an amount was acquired legally, then one is certainly capable of demonstrating that. Since it appears that the men in this case did not do that, then it follows that they couldn't, and thus it is more than likely that such money was not acquired legally.