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Rewards - General Information, and
The Catch-all Reward Law
Six (reward) laws are of special importance and reward potential to a
CrimeFighter. They are:
(1) 18 USCS 1962: Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) pays a
percentage (up to 50%) of all fines and forfeitures with no dollar limit.
This law covers virtually all felonies that are profit motivated.
(2) 18 USCS 3059 pays rewards up to $25,000 for information leading to the
arrest for any state or Federal felonies. It's a Bounty Hunter law, with a
dead-or-alive clause!
(3) 21 USCS 886 Drug Enforcement Agency pays additional rewards of 25% of
all fines and forfeitures for information on drug-related felonies -- up to
$150,000!
(4) 19 USCS 1619 (Customs) pays 25% of fines and forfeitures up to
$250,000.
(5) 26 USCS 7623 (Internal Revenue Service) pays a percentage (up to 50%)
of fines and forfeitures, with no dollar limit!
(6) 33 USCS 411 (Environmental Protection Agency) pays 50% of fines and
forfeitures levied against navigable-water polluters -- no limit!
All of the above may not seem to hold much interest to CrimeFighters, but
they're sleepers. They'll surprise you with their potential. These, plus
quite a few more reward laws and related topics, are mentioned in detail in
following Chapters.
The Bounty Hunter Reward Law
USCS 3059 is the main catch-all law. It offers a reward for information
leading to the arrest of any felon, anywhere in the United States, whether
under federal or state law, and is payable after the arrest without being
contingent on obtaining a conviction. It's a very important reward law for
CrimeFighters. Here's the details:
Title 18 USCS 3059 "Rewards and appropriations therefrom.
"There is authorized to be appropriated out of any money in the Treasury
not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $25,000 as a reward or rewards for
the capture of anyone who is charged with violations of criminal laws of
the United States or any State or of the District of Columbia, and an equal
amount as a reward or rewards for information leading to the arrest of any
such person, to be apportioned and expended in the discretion of, and upon
such conditions as may be imposed by, the Attorney General of the United
States. Not more than $25,000 shall be expended for information or capture
of any one person.
If any of the said persons shall be killed in resisting lawful arrest, the
Attorney General may pay any part of the reward money in his discretion to
the person or persons whom he shall adjudge to be entitled thereto but no
reward money shall be paid to any official or employee of the Department of
Justice of the United States.
(b) The Attorney General each year may spend not more than $10,000 for
services or information looking toward the apprehension of narcotic law
violators who are fugitives from justice."
* * * * * *
Unofficial Interpretation of USCS 3059
Clause (1) A CrimeFighter may be paid up to $25,000 for the CAPTURE of "any
one person" who has been charged with a violation of state or federal laws
but has not been captured or who has escaped from authorities.
This law authorizes and encourage citizens to make a citizen's arrest or
otherwise physically capture (at gun point when necessary) any person who
has been charged (not necessarily convicted) of violating any felony law.
In effect, this is a Bounty Hunter reward law.
Clause (2) Up to $25,000 may be paid to a citizen for INFORMATION leading
to the arrest of "any one person" who has violated any state or federal
felony laws who has not yet been arrested or charged.
If the lawbreaker is known to be dangerous, and you have time to call the
FBI and negotiate a reward, let them make the arrest. You will still be
paid for the information. However, the amount may be less than that paid if
you were to make the arrest yourself.
Also important is the wording "any one person." That might be interpreted
as meaning the reward can be increased if many felons are arrested. In the
latter event, the rewards could be as high as $250,000 (the maximum) for
information leading to the arrest of a large drug ring.
The unique part of this law (3059) is that the reward will be paid for the
information leading to the arrest (only) and doesn't contain the words
"upon conviction." Authorities wouldn't authorize an arrest if sufficient
evidence wasn't available for a successful prosecution, but the "guilty"
person might get off on a technicality. In such an unfortunate event,
although the guilty party would go free, the reward would still be paid. A
CrimeFighter should get paid within a short period of time, and won't have
to wait until the person charged has exhausted all legal appeals available
in the court system.
Clause (3) The last condition is a "dead or alive" clause. The reward paid
under this clause is at the discretion of the U.S. District Attorney, who
decides the amount to be paid depending on the circumstances of the death
of the felon. If the lawbreaker is killed in a gunfight resisting arrest or
in a high-speed automobile chase, which are common occurrences, the full
amount would probably be paid. But if the death of the felon could have
been avoided but wasn't, or deadly force was used but not justified, or is
under suspicious circumstances, the rewards might not be paid. This
clause is mainly to discourage temptation by bounty hunters to deliver dead
bodies instead of live ones.
Clause 2 (b) was added Sept 1982. Presumably, the number of uncaught
narcotics violators are now so numerous, lawmakers were forced to exempt
them to avoid depleting the reward fund. However, Title 21, 886 is a DEA
law for drug-related crimes. It takes up the slack caused by the
elimination of rewards in 3059 for uncaught drug-related violators.
* * * * *
Incidentally, when a reward law says the Attorney General, the Secretary,
or the President, is authorized to pay rewards, it's not necessary or
advisable to actually contact those high ranking individuals. While the
named official is ultimately responsible, they are seldom involved in
authorizing rewards. In a few situations where the highest rewards are
justified, they may become involved to approve maximum payments.
Decision making and authorization for federal rewards are delegated to
Assistants who have offices in many cities. They are the ones who decide
how much the reward should be. When the amount of the reward is higher than
their authority to pay, they will contact their superiors and pass it on to
the person who can authorize it - providing that the amount is justified.
CrimeFighters should contact the FBI, or nearest U.S. Attorney's office as
the starting place to start negotiating for federal rewards. (Rewards are
seldom paid after disclosure if the reward is not negotiated first!)
* * * * * *
RICO covers just about all serious felonies that involve a profit motive.
Payment of a percentage of fines and forfeitures are available but subject
to negotiation, as it is with most reward laws. RICO law is very important
to CrimeFighters because the majority of felony violations will fall under
the broad scope of RICO, which has far reaching and broad powers such as
confiscating a lifetime of accumulated illegal profits from convicted
felons. Negotiated rewards can pay up to 50 percent of same, with no dollar
limit. RICO is explained in detail in chapter 8.
Where to Find Reference Material on Laws
Federal laws mentioned in this book are found in the multi-volume sets of
"U.S. Codes" in Federal Depository libraries in major cities. Not all
libraries are designated as Federal Depository Libraries. Ask your local
librarian where they're located. If there is no Federal Depository library
in your area, U.S. Codes are also available in law libraries, which are
usually found near courthouses. These libraries are for the convenience of
lawyers, but they're available to the public for legal research. When you
need to know the details of any law, refer to these volumes. (Tip: look in
the back of each volume for the latest updates.)
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