Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
Posted on 03/17/2005 5:45:12 PM PST by Graybeard58
A Pontoon Beach police officer acting on a hunch searched a tractor-trailer at a truck stop and discovered almost $3.3 million in suspected drug money, one of the largest cash seizures in the area's history.
The money, confiscated Friday, was mostly in $20 bills and took a team of 10 officers almost 12 hours to count, said Pontoon Beach Police Chief Charles Luehmann.
snip
"We catch people with anywhere from $5,000 or $6,000 all the way up to a half million usually," said St. Louis police spokesman Sgt. Sam Dotson. Almost "$3.3 million, I'd say that's a huge find for Pontoon Beach."
snip
If the driver can't provide proof he obtained the money legally, federal law requires that it be divided between Pontoon Beach police and federal agencies.
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
Actually, I doubt it.
There is very little that surprises me anymore.
But feel free to try. I always enjoy learning something new.
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
Answer: Neither the cops or the criminals will stop until there is no cash in the proposition.
In other words, this is the free market in operation here, irregardless of moral, criminal, or whatever codes we might think up. Conflict of interest? Not if your with the cops. What a frickin messed up world we live in.
Is there a central clearinghouse for capturing and tracking these incidents? That would be a good starting point for any real reform.
I think these agents know damn well what they are doing are illegal acts under the color of law. What is more, these are blatant violations of the Constitution, and I would support legislation that elevates these actions to the equivalent of high treason. If convicted and sentenced, the sentence should be:
If this strategy of promising to torch the ground the agent is standing on and salting it with radioactive waste doesn't stay their hand from this corrosively insidious practice that puts them in the same league as fourth world hellhole warlords demanding protection money (except the warlords are much more up front about it), then they and their families deserve everything they have coming to them. Mark my words, if something is not done about this right quick to nip it in the bud by putting absolute terror into their veins at the mere thought of being just accused of this, it will turn into a nightmare for us all.
Ask Henry Hyde. He wrote the asset forfeiture laws we 'enjoy' today.
Actually, CAFRA made a token gesture towards raising the test of evidence. Still not nearly enough in my opinion, but it is a start. The good news is that these laws were legislated into existence instead of ruled into existence by the judiciary. That means if enough voters threaten to turn out enough representatives over this issue, the law will change.
The stories that Graybeard58 sent are old; Willie Jones' case dates back to at least 1991. A lot of what he had to go through is no longer possible under CAFRA. For example, the cost bond requirement has been abolished. The government must actually file a civil forfeiture complaint within 90 days of receipt of the property owner's claim or forfeiture will be permanently barred. That is pretty perfunctory, however.
The new tactic seems to just put the seized property under "investigation" and sit on it until the property owner becomes discouraged and gives up. When the property owner demands to know the specifics of the investigation, just clam up and say the investigation is of a "sensitive" nature. Claiming something is "under investigation" must be judicially reviewed, though I would prefer that the judicial review be passed in a more adversarial jurisdiction; too much moral hazard in a local judge rubber-stamping the requests to classify an ongoing investigation as "sensitive", and let the property owner out to hang. This is a huge loophole in CAFRA. I'd like to see a revision where the agency must file a charge within 30 days and disclose the investigation to adversarial discovery by that time, or get District Court approval for 30 day extensions.
The commercial and political angle can also be exploited against these agents. If we start exhaustively tracking these cases and publicize a list of cities where cash will most likely be seized for
And when did a hunch become probable cause?
So what is the legal limit? How much cash are we allowed to own?
Or tips from people who knew that you like to have cash.
As much as a bureaucrat decides you can. Welcome to the new "freer" America. We are our brother's check book keepers.
Oh wait, crap, that's already happening all over the country. Ok, new definition. It's not tyranny until the state can tell you exactly what you can and can not do with your land.
Oh, wait, crap, that's already happening. Heck, in Seatle's county you can only build on 10% of your land.
Ok, we've got problems.
If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid of anything the state does, no matter how intrusive and anti-constitutional, right? You know, they used to say that in the Soviet Union, but hay, they had lots of freedoms there on paper, just not in practice.
absolutely. here in nyc, if someone is caught driving drunk in YOUR car, the police take your car and keep it through civil forfeiture laws (implemented by guiliani). and the feds can take your house if your housesitter deals drugs out of it while you're away. disgusting.
Money is just a conveyance for the tranferance of value from one individual to another. It is owned by the Federal Reserve, not by the holder of the conveyance. That is why it is illegal for an individual to destroy the money they "own." If criminals and UberKonservativs don't like that arrangement they can devise their own conveyances if they want to.
Thanks for the heads up. Ya know, I was passing through Pontoon City a couple of weeks ago and must have left about 3,300,000 in back of a rental semitruck. I was wondering what I did with it, thought may be the wife slipped it out for a little recreational shopping.
Now, can I have it back, please? I said please.
I'm sick and tired of this kind of crap unLaw "enforcement".
With love, Glorious State of the People.
Right, until someone decides you may be suspicious.
"Did you read the part where they seize as little as $5,000? I have that much money and if I decide to carry MY money I shouldn't have to prove my innocence."
Absolutely.
"As it is at least in my state there is virtually no oversight as to how this money is spent and most of it is just blown on silly stuff or to enrich the lives of those doing the taking."
It is the same everywhere.
And the proof required?
1) Six sets of ID
2) Sworn affidavits from each contributor to the total back to the federal reserve printing press
3) 320 documents providing proof of citizenship including bill receipts for the last 5 years
4) Written verification that 3 sets of drug dogs sniffing the owners house, possessions, vehicles and each place visited for the last 5 weeks alerted not one time
5) Full body xray from 4 different positions with sworn affidavit from doctor that no trace of hidden drugs were found
6) Full dental examine with sworn affidavit from dentist that no tooth scrapping revealed any drug residue
7) Full NCIC and 50 state public records check with written verification that no misdemeanors had been committed in that state since birth
8) All bank account for all banks used since puberty
9) Sworn affidavits from all surviving family member for 3 generation that each generation was raised in a drug free household
All at the expense of the investigatee.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.