License To Shill: Highway Robbery

[heironymouspasparagus]

The Department of Public Safety said the devices are not used to access personal banking or credit card information but are used to read financial information on things such as gift cards and hotel key cards.

DPS sought to use the readers to gain access to bank accounts; however, the vendor declined that request because that would have violated federal banking and privacy laws.

For now.  Anyone think that is where they will stop?  I got some swamp land I would just love to sell...!

[patric]

Anyone think that is where they will stop?  I got some swamp land I would just love to sell...!

WASHINGTON — Federal drug agents regularly mine Americans' travel information to profile people who might be ferrying money for narcotics traffickers — though they almost never use what they learn to make arrests or build criminal cases.

Instead, that targeting has helped the Drug Enforcement Administration seize a small fortune in cash.
Most of the money was passed on to local police departments that lend officers to assist the drug agency.

"They count on this as part of the budget," said Louis Weiss, a former supervisor of the DEA group assigned to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. "Basically, you've got to feed the monster."


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/08/10/dea-travel-record-airport-seizures/88474282/

[Vashta Nerada]

I have personal knowledge of a case where property was siezed by police with no cause.  pancakes.  Corporations have more protection than citizens.  $$$ rules, rocks, & rolls.

Officer Ted Nelson has recently undergone a slight change in his career. The police officer formerly in charge of training Michigan's law enforcement on civil asset forfeiture in the 1980s, Ted is now a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a non-profit group of former police officers and judges who oppose the drug war. Ted agreed to speak to me on behalf of himself; his opinions do not necessarily represent those of LEAP.

TLO: Ted, you were in charge of training Michigan's law enforcement about how to use civil asset forfeiture back in the 1980s. Would you mind telling me a bit about that?

I was on a narcotics enforcement team at the time and was very interested in asset forfeiture and became the instructor for all the state police in Michigan to learn about it. At the time, I thought it was a great tool for law enforcement in the war on drugs. It was a way to go after assets obtained illegally by the sale of illegal drugs, and it seemed to be a valid use of police power.

Asset forfeiture puts the burden of proof onto the victim, the person who has assets taken. It can be hard to launch a defense if you have your cash seized. I remember a case years ago where a trooper found a briefcase with $450,000 in cash. They took it assuming it was drug related, with no proof. They brought it to me since I was in charge of forfeiture and they had me look into it. I found no connection and told them to return it immediately.

The money can be used to enhance narcotics enforcement. This is both very vague and very broad. Taking someone's house over raising seedlings will breed ill-will and will ruin a forfeiture law that was working fine. Sometimes police stretch a law so far that it gets taken away.

I was involved in federal seizures, and those seizures share the proceeds with the states who help. Adopted forfeiture is what the Feds used to do, where locals would bring the case to the Feds to have them handle the paperwork. Eric Holder stopped this practice back in January before leaving office. There used to be a threshold on how much a state could be take, but the feds had no limit. I am not personally against asset forfeiture as a tool but I saw two main problems with it.

Problem 1: When you don't know everything about a law you tend to overstretch the intent of that law. Drug teams would take lots of assets from homes, any items of value, electronics; all taken under forfeiture law. These would be used as a bargaining chip to plea bargain in the criminal case: 'we'll give you your TV back if you plead guilty.' That wasn't the intent. The intent was to take the goods obtained from drug sales only. Over time, this became 'let's take everything and sort it out later' approach. I could tell back in the 80s that this would get the forfeiture law in trouble, but it's hard to convince people to fix something before it is broken.

Problem 2: Kids going to Florida for spring break with a small amount of drugs and lots of cash would be stopped by cops and have their vehicle and cash seized if they found any drugs. These kids would then get stranded in far off states while on vacation and lose lots of money. Police took advantage of that. And it still happens today; there are officers out there who stretch it beyond its intent. There needs to be some kind of review, prosecutorial or administrative, something to create objectivity and oversight. There's no oversight.




http://theleafonline.com/c/politics/2015/06/asset-forfeiture-words-wisdom-leap-officer-ted-nelson/

[Vashta Nerada]

A Tulsa man filed a lawsuit Friday against the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, the District Attorney's Office and the County Clerk's Office seeking reparations on claims that they lost two Harley-Davidson motorcycles seized from him in 2014.

John H. Coday, 53, was in the Tulsa Jail on Jan. 3, 2014, when prosecutors filed notice to seize his 2003 and 2007 Harleys and a 1997 Ford truck on allegations that Coday had used the vehicles to sell drugs, according to court documents.

It is unclear under what circumstances Coday was jailed, but online court records indicate that he wasn't charged with a crime during that period.

The county also seized $2,870 and various guns, cellphones and a surveillance camera, according to court records.

More than seven months later, District Judge Carlos Chappelle ordered the county return the two motorcycles to Coday, saying there wasn't evidence they were used to sell drugs — although he contended there was evidence to support the other forfeitures.

However, one Harley — which was originally listed as a 2007 model and carried a unique VIN — was at that time referred to as a 1997 model, sometimes shown to have the same VIN as the Ford, according to the lawsuit.

The Ford, which was originally referred to as a 1997 model, was then listed as a 1993 model, the lawsuit says.

The Ford was later sold for $800 to Arnie's Auto Sales, 4625 E. 11 St., at a public auction, and $590 from the sale was deposited into the district attorney's revolving fund, according to court documents.

After the truck was sold, Coday's attorney, Scott B. Goode, attempted multiple times to contact the district attorney about the motorcycles and was told he'd hear back from office personnel when they found them, according to the court documents.

In the summer of 2015, Goode was told that the Harleys were lost and were believed to have been "inadvertently sold by Tulsa County," the lawsuit alleges.

Coday is suing for in excess of $200,000 on claims of loss or damage to property, multiple counts of negligence, inconvenience and annoyance, deceit, supervisor liability, civil conspiracy and punitive damages.

The suit names as defendants County Clerk Pat Key, District Attorney Steven Kunzweiler, Sheriff Vic Regalado, former District Attorney Tim Harris, former Sheriff Stanley Glanz, as well as the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office and the Tulsa County Clerk's Office.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/courts/tulsa-county-officials-sued-for-more-than-for-now-missing/article_da01383e-b708-5b87-b3cf-0adc54fdb59d.html

[heironymouspasparagus]

A Tulsa man filed a lawsuit Friday against the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, the District Attorney's Office and the County Clerk's Office seeking reparations on claims that they lost two Harley-Davidson motorcycles seized from him in 2014.

John H. Coday, 53, was in the Tulsa Jail on Jan. 3, 2014, when prosecutors filed notice to seize his 2003 and 2007 Harleys and a 1997 Ford truck on allegations that Coday had used the vehicles to sell drugs, according to court documents.

It is unclear under what circumstances Coday was jailed, but online court records indicate that he wasn't charged with a crime during that period.

The county also seized $2,870 and various guns, cellphones and a surveillance camera, according to court records.

More than seven months later, District Judge Carlos Chappelle ordered the county return the two motorcycles to Coday, saying there wasn't evidence they were used to sell drugs — although he contended there was evidence to support the other forfeitures.

However, one Harley — which was originally listed as a 2007 model and carried a unique VIN — was at that time referred to as a 1997 model, sometimes shown to have the same VIN as the Ford, according to the lawsuit.

The Ford, which was originally referred to as a 1997 model, was then listed as a 1993 model, the lawsuit says.

The Ford was later sold for $800 to Arnie's Auto Sales, 4625 E. 11 St., at a public auction, and $590 from the sale was deposited into the district attorney's revolving fund, according to court documents.

After the truck was sold, Coday's attorney, Scott B. Goode, attempted multiple times to contact the district attorney about the motorcycles and was told he'd hear back from office personnel when they found them, according to the court documents.

In the summer of 2015, Goode was told that the Harleys were lost and were believed to have been "inadvertently sold by Tulsa County," the lawsuit alleges.

Coday is suing for in excess of $200,000 on claims of loss or damage to property, multiple counts of negligence, inconvenience and annoyance, deceit, supervisor liability, civil conspiracy and punitive damages.

The suit names as defendants County Clerk Pat Key, District Attorney Steven Kunzweiler, Sheriff Vic Regalado, former District Attorney Tim Harris, former Sheriff Stanley Glanz, as well as the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office and the Tulsa County Clerk's Office.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/courts/tulsa-county-officials-sued-for-more-than-for-now-missing/article_da01383e-b708-5b87-b3cf-0adc54fdb59d.html

And the 'hits' just keep rollin' on....!!

I suspect there is little hope now for at least a while, since the new Pedophile in Chief is such a shill himself!!  This kind of stuff just trickles down.

[patric]

And the 'hits' just keep rollin' on....!!

I suspect there is little hope now for at least a while, since the new Pedophile in Chief is such a shill himself!!  This kind of stuff just trickles down.

A friend at work raised an interesting question.
The most organized opposition to reforming Asset Forfeiture abuse comes from the D.A. unions, since prosecutors have developed a dependency on their cut of confiscations.  But is that "income" considered an official part of their budget?  

My closest analogy would be the state looking at the meager income schools get from casinos and rationalizing educators can absorb cuts to their regular funding since casinos are such cash cows.

[heironymouspasparagus]

A friend at work raised an interesting question.
The most organized opposition to reforming Asset Forfeiture abuse comes from the D.A. unions, since prosecutors have developed a dependency on their cut of confiscations.  But is that "income" considered an official part of their budget?  

My closest analogy would be the state looking at the meager income schools get from casinos and rationalizing educators can absorb cuts to their regular funding since casinos are such cash cows.

It's a form of slush fund funding as popularized by clandestine "black ops" in the military....does anyone actually believe in the '$600 hammer' ??  It's a $25 hammer with $575 left for 'other activities'.  But the idea is the same - extra money left over from outside the box sources to do stuff Congress/City Councils/County governments would never approve.

[patric]

It's a form of slush fund funding as popularized by clandestine "black ops" in the military....does anyone actually believe in the '$600 hammer' ??  It's a $25 hammer with $575 left for 'other activities'.  But the idea is the same - extra money left over from outside the box sources to do stuff Congress/City Councils/County governments would never approve.

If the argument in favor of seizing property without cause is its necessary to "fight the War on Drugs," then I see an oportunity to fix two problems.

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-legislators-line-up-to-debate-police-property-seizures/article/5535239

[AquaMan]

Is it such a bizarre premise that someone should have to be convicted of a crime to have their property seized? When did we start to confuse the presumption of innocence with the accumulation of wealth? Billionaires everywhere are suddenly nervous to visit Oklahoma.

[Red Arrow]

Billionaires everywhere are suddenly nervous to visit Oklahoma.

They'll just have to fly over like everyone else.

[AquaMan]

Until they land to collect campaign contributions! Then we can get 'em.

[patric]

Is it such a bizarre premise that someone should have to be convicted of a crime to have their property seized? When did we start to confuse the presumption of innocence with the accumulation of wealth? Billionaires everywhere are suddenly nervous to visit Oklahoma.

Entitlement is a powerful motivator.



This week in asset forfeiture: Tulsa DA warns that reform will bring headless bodies swinging from bridges

There has also been some talk of reform in Oklahoma, where a state senator has introduced a bill similar to the new law in New Mexico. That legislation inspired this amusingly deluded response from Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler.

    "What we're talking about is inviting some of the most violent people on the history of this planet," he said on the Pat Campbell Show on KFAQ. "You see what goes on in Mexico, you see people's bodies decapitated and hung from bridges. And if you want to bring that drug cartel ideology to Oklahoma, do exactly what Senator [Kyle] Loveless' bill is suggesting,"

Eric Dalgleish, a major in the Tulsa Police Department, also got in on the act.
    "What it will do is enhance the drug trafficking organizations — that's who's supporting his bill is the drug trafficking organizations," he said. "They are
politically savvy. They are political activists. If you think they're not watching this and deciding what state to set up business in, we're being naive and we're being ignorant."

I don't think Dalgleish and Kunzweiler fully understand how illegal cartels operate. It's the "illegal" part that allows them to exist, allows them to get rich, and creates the violence they seem so certain is soon to be visited upon the Sooner state. If they really want to keep cartels out of Oklahoma, they should look at easing up on the drug war, not fighting efforts to mitigate some of its more unjust and harmful consequences.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2015/11/18/this-week-in-asset-forfeiture-tulsa-da-warns-that-reform-will-bring-headless-bodies-swinging-from-bridges/


All the Constitutional protections that you think that we have as citizens are not present in civil asset forfeiture.
http://www.tulsatoday.com/2015/09/08/sen-loveless-studies-civil-asset-forfeiture/

[heironymouspasparagus]

Entitlement is a powerful motivator.



This week in asset forfeiture: Tulsa DA warns that reform will bring headless bodies swinging from bridges

There has also been some talk of reform in Oklahoma, where a state senator has introduced a bill similar to the new law in New Mexico. That legislation inspired this amusingly deluded response from Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler.

    "What we're talking about is inviting some of the most violent people on the history of this planet," he said on the Pat Campbell Show on KFAQ. "You see what goes on in Mexico, you see people's bodies decapitated and hung from bridges. And if you want to bring that drug cartel ideology to Oklahoma, do exactly what Senator [Kyle] Loveless' bill is suggesting,"

Eric Dalgleish, a major in the Tulsa Police Department, also got in on the act.
    "What it will do is enhance the drug trafficking organizations — that's who's supporting his bill is the drug trafficking organizations," he said. "They are
politically savvy. They are political activists. If you think they're not watching this and deciding what state to set up business in, we're being naive and we're being ignorant."

I don't think Dalgleish and Kunzweiler fully understand how illegal cartels operate. It's the "illegal" part that allows them to exist, allows them to get rich, and creates the violence they seem so certain is soon to be visited upon the Sooner state. If they really want to keep cartels out of Oklahoma, they should look at easing up on the drug war, not fighting efforts to mitigate some of its more unjust and harmful consequences.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2015/11/18/this-week-in-asset-forfeiture-tulsa-da-warns-that-reform-will-bring-headless-bodies-swinging-from-bridges/


All the Constitutional protections that you think that we have as citizens are not present in civil asset forfeiture.
http://www.tulsatoday.com/2015/09/08/sen-loveless-studies-civil-asset-forfeiture/

Just so much stupid in this state - and it appears to be spreading like a virus...or Rock Snot algae...!!

[patric]

Just so much stupid in this state - and it appears to be spreading like a virus...or Rock Snot algae...!!

Here's some more:

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - An Oklahoma lawmaker said he wants to use money seized by authorities to help pay for a border wall between the United States and Mexico.

State Rep. Bobby Cleveland, R-Slaughterville, released a statement Thursday about his proposal. He said Oklahoma law allows law enforcement to seize property, including money, believed to be used in criminal activity.

He said unless the owner can claim the money wasn't used improperly, it often stays with the department.

"This money is drug money. They vast majority of it is either coming from Mexico or headed there. By redirecting this cash to construction efforts, Mexico will be paying for the wall just as promised," Cleveland said.

It's unclear exactly where all money seized in law enforcement sweeps comes from.

Cleveland said he hopes to have an amendment ready before the end of the legislative session.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Here's some more:

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - An Oklahoma lawmaker said he wants to use money seized by authorities to help pay for a border wall between the United States and Mexico.

State Rep. Bobby Cleveland, R-Slaughterville, released a statement Thursday about his proposal. He said Oklahoma law allows law enforcement to seize property, including money, believed to be used in criminal activity.

He said unless the owner can claim the money wasn't used improperly, it often stays with the department.

"This money is drug money. They vast majority of it is either coming from Mexico or headed there. By redirecting this cash to construction efforts, Mexico will be paying for the wall just as promised," Cleveland said.

It's unclear exactly where all money seized in law enforcement sweeps comes from.

Cleveland said he hopes to have an amendment ready before the end of the legislative session.

Oklahoma Stupid.