Tip: A $47G money belt will make anyone's butt look big [$47k siezed by police who say drug money]

The Boston Herald ^ | 6/23/05 | J.M. Lawrence

[Taylor42]

You know nothing of this, so how can you say that?

The government has been doing this in recent years and is has to stop.

[NJ_gent]

I'm not generally a lawsuit-friendly type of person, but I think she ought to sue the DEA and that agent personally. Using his position of authority to ask her to strip for him is really what puts this over the top. This guy shouldn't be anywhere near a position of authority if he can't handle the responsibility. How many of you guys would have beat the living hell out of him if he'd looked over your wife's body, told her it was nice, then asked her to take off her clothes?

[SittinYonder]

WOD nets government $47,000

[L98Fiero]

"You know nothing of this, so how can you say that?"

I should have said, "My guess is...". I agree with your point, though. Regardless of what I suspect she was up to, the DEA had no grounds to do what they did. There is not (that I'm aware of), nor should there be any law against carrying $50K on a interstate flight. I suspect (yet again :)) that the DEA saw the same red flags as me and got trigger happy. That's not good. Still, I think her story is smelly.

[henderson field]

There was a trial, I presume. A jury selected, evidence presented, deliberations and then a verdict? Or was this done Soviet-style?

[Oztrich Boy]

Property is theft. ergo she's a criminal.

[general_re]

On top of that, how spectacular would her new boobs have to be to cost that much?

Maybe she was having them gold-plated. A little chrome trim, et cetera...

[Dan Evans]

I think she is a victim of an oppressive government.

[ol' hoghead]

Soviet style.

Thanks to asset forfeiture laws (WOD) you must prove your innocence to recover your property from the thieves with badges.

ol' hoghead

[L98Fiero]

Where do you suppose one obtains a money belt capable of holding $50K in cash? I'm doubting she picked it up at the local Wal-Mart.

You know, I can see everyone's agruement about the DEA and their actions. Still, her story stinks to high-hell and everybody here knows it. The DEA SURE knows it. I don't necessarily like the way they are allowed to do business but excuse me for smiling because I know some drug guy in Texas ain't getting paid.

If anybody here really believed her story, they would be ripping her a new one for blowing all her assets on cosmetic surgery instead of taking care of her 4-year-old.

[JOAT]

Where do you suppose one obtains a money belt capable of holding $50K in cash? I'm doubting she picked it up at the local Wal-Mart.

If it were primarily in 100 dollar bills, it would be 500 banknotes. Not too big, easily fitting in a fanny pack.

The interesting thing, aside from the government creating a crime out of carrying cash, is that the article said metal detectors tipped the feds off. I sincerely doubt she was carrying change in there, so perhaps it was the 'strip' in the bills that alerted the stasi to the money.

[Dan Evans]

Where do you suppose one obtains a money belt capable of holding $50K in cash? I'm doubting she picked it up at the local Wal-Mart.

Maybe she sewed it herself. What difference does it make? What really stinks to high heaven are the cowards who are willing to rationalize these government actions. Search and seizure actions are being used to shake people down on a regular basis. Corrupt police departments have been doing this in Texas for years now. People are being stopped by local cops and losing their cars and their cash on flimsy pretenses.

If you have to hire a lawyer and pay a few thousand dollars bond to recover a few hundred bucks that was seized, it is the same as highway robbery.

Don't think that just because they are government agents, they are honest men. We fought a war to get our constitution. Do we have to do it again to get it back?

[TKDietz]

Soviet-style. With these asset forfeitures the government just seizes the money and the burden is then on the person to prove that the money was not drug money. Proving a negative is next to impossible. Most people never even sue to get their money back.

[TKDietz]

"Perhaps they do have evidence.... didn't the story mention they would tell their side in court? They may be in the wrong here, but in this case, and we have to view each case individually, this woman's story does not seem plausible."

Why should she even have to tell her story? Shouldn't the government have to prove you did something wrong before they deprive you of life, liberty, or property? Now the burden of proof is on her. That isn't fair and it's just plain unAmerican.