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Drug Wars and Drug Laws
"Deep Cover," a $5.95 pocketbook, by Dell, written by a former DEA group
supervisor and international undercover agent, gives the inside (true)
story of how DEA infighting, incompetence, and subterfuge lost the biggest
battle of the drug war. If there was a textbook on undercover work, Michael
Levine would have written it. For 25 years he was an insider in the DEA -
their top undercover cop. A man with a proven record of arrests -
personally accounting for more than 3,000 criminals serving 15,000 years in
jail. A man who now calls America's war on drugs "the biggest, costliest,
most dangerous failure of American policy since Vietnam. In his book "Deep
Cover" he takes you on one of the most dramatic, ambitious cases ever
mounted - an operation in which the drug kingpins of three countries were
caught red-handed... and tells you why they were never brought to justice.
The result is an explosive expose of why we're losing the war on drugs -
told in the words of an American who has devoted his life to winning it."
The above description was taken from the covers of his book. If you're the
least bit interested in doing something about the drug war farce, read this
book. It may come as a bit of a shock to learn that (on page 64, for
example,) DEA's Staff coordinator, Art Egbert said, "They are making so
much cocaine down there (in Bolivia) that just seizing another 10, 20, or
30 thousand kilos isn't going to make any difference whatsoever. There are
probably 150 or 200 guys like Roman down there. It's just not worth making
a buy."
Michael Levine's thoughts at that time were, "I wanted to scream. "Why the
fuck have two DEA undercover agents died this year after going after ounces
of cocaine? Was it for nothing? And why are you sending agents into the
jungles like an invading army, like Vietnam? For nothing?" The words were
on the tip of my tongue. Only the realization that it would have meant an
instant end to Trifecta (code name for the operation) silenced me -- but
not completely."
And it didn't. His book, "Deep Cover," written after his retirement, blows
the lid off political ambitions and bureaucratic bungling and the shameful
waste of lives and billions of dollars on the biggest con of all - DEA's
operation "Snowcap."
The essence of the Michael's story, besides shocking revelations that will
make you both angry and dismayed, mentions a viable alternative that may
not be politically expedient, but could be the most effective way to fight
the drug war.
On page 227 he says "Over the next week, from March 24th to March 29th,
night after night, Group 22 (his group) kept locking up buyers. Most of
them flipped (gave evidence against the pusher who sold them the dope),
signed statements, and blubbered that they would never do it again. The one
thing that seemed apparent to me was that most of them never would have
been buying drugs in the first place if they'd believed there was a chance
they'd be busted. WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN!" (Mike's emphasis.)
Another pocketbook, "Cocaine Wars," by Paul Eddy with Hugo Sabogal and Sara
Waden, Bantam Books, 1988, makes similar remarks and has come to the same
conclusion:
" ...When the task force began work in 1982, one kilo of cocaine of any
purity cost $47,000 to $60,000 in Miami. In late 1987 one kilo cost between
$9,000 and $14,000 in Miami, and there were places in the city where at
night cocaine was more easily and openly available than cigarettes.
What went wrong? "We win battles while they win the war," said Special
Agent William Yout, a blunt Boston Irishman who until 1987 was the DEA's
exceptionally forthright spokesman in Miami. In Yout's view -- a view
widely shared in law enforcement and by the other side -- the task force
failed, and continues to fail, because its strategy is flawed, because it
fights on the wrong front, and because for all the hoopla and all the
political rhetoric, there is in Washington neither the understanding nor
the political will to win."
Another book of Michael Levine's exploits, "Undercover," written by Donald
Goddard (Dell) and available in paperback ($5) contains a series of
"seminars" that Levine uses to teach law enforcement agents how to go
undercover. In the book, the gist of his seminars are told, along with the
background information in story form on how he made the busts. It's
fascinating to read, and in a way, is a training manual for CrimeFighters.
It explains what going undercover is really like and exactly how to do it!
Levine reiterates (in Chapter 9 of "Undercover") "We can win, if you want
to". In this Chapter, Mike is talking to a PTA group and explains why the
war on drugs is already lost, and what can and should be done about it. He
emphatically repeats the claim that all the big busts have damn little
effect and never will. It's only when users of illegal drugs are hounded,
harried, and harassed out of existence will the drug wars be won. As long
as the demand is there, drug dealers will be able to make a lot of money
meeting the demand. Taking out dealers, who are replaced immediately by
another group who are waiting in line to move up the ladder, is not the way
to fight the war on drugs. Going after the users is the only effective way
to eliminate drug use. When no one (or hardly anyone) uses drugs anymore,
there'll be no dealers.
What Levine recommends is not going to be a popular remedy supported by the
public or police departments. First, it means making arrests in record
numbers that won't be currently practical. Wholesale arrests would tie up
the entire judicial system. Most of these arrests will be considered as
"nuisance" arrests as far as the courts are concerned. Second, most of
these lawbreakers are almost immediately released with a slap on the wrist
-- plea bargained down to a petty offense or misdemeanor and a small fine
or a few days in jail. For the cops on the street, it's just not worth the
time and hassle when they have too many other things to do. So they don't
bother. They can't. There are too many users and not enough police.
Prosecutors are already overworked, court calendars too crowded, and jails
are overflowing. That's the problem. (But, CrimeFighters could provide a
simple solution. More on that coming up.)
Drug Wars: Just a GAME?
Both "Deep Cover" and "Cocaine Wars," about different narc agents, draw
similar but separate conclusions that sum up their opinion of the War on
Drugs:
In" Cocaine Wars," Ex-Lieutenant Raul Diaz (homicide, with nine years of
service), said that in the War on Drugs, he had lost sight of that, and
gone for overall victory, and, consequently, he had lost. He was, he said,
no longer naive: "the whole thing's a game. It's all a fucking game."
Michael Levine, in "Deep Cover," says "I listened to Hooper talk and
realized I was no better than he, or any of the other DEA agents who
realize that the whole drug war is nothing more than a game -- a dangerous
game, but a game nonetheless -- and continue to play, risking their lives
but afraid to risk their jobs. I was as afraid as any of them -- afraid of
a truth I had refused to see ever since the nightmare of the Roberta Suarez
case."
* * * * * *
Another book, "Drug Agent, U.S.A.," written by Richard F. Radford and Jack
Crowley, published by St. Martin's Paperbacks is another "true detective
story" of the street war on drugs as experienced by undercover drug agents.
This one, beside relating fascinating stories, provides clear insight in
the drug scene and the jobs of undercover cops. It also sheds additional
light on the reason for failure of the war on drugs!
The authors of "Drug Agent U.S.A." mention something generally overlooked
by the public as well as politicians:
"...fully half the drugs OD's that get reported in this country derive from
prescription drugs. That's not to say they've all been negligently
prescribed: there are as many methods of illegal diversion as there are
criminals. Drugs get stolen, prescriptions get forged, some people
deliberately overdose.
"As a supervisor for the DEA, my first concern is about the sheer size of
the problem. From an enforcement point of view, the numbers are staggering.
There are approximately 800,000 registrants in the United States -- that
is, over three-quarters of a million legally registered pharmacists,
doctors, manufacturers, distributors and others who handle, somewhere along
the line, drugs listed under the Controlled Substances Act. All of these
registrants are potential diverters, people who divert legal drugs to an
illegal end, so the logistics of tracking down a crooked handler are mind-
boggling.
"Add to the problem of this number the fact there are several thousand
different drugs listed under the Controlled Substances Act. Those several
thousand items factor out to about 20 million dosage units of drugs that
can, as the DEA says, "have a substantial and detrimental effect on the
health and welfare of the American people.
"Obviously, not all the drugs are ending up where they're supposed to. Of
the 20 billion legally produced dosage units, estimates range from a low
250 million to a high of 650 million dosage units diverted into the illicit
market annually. That's a lot of pills."
Chapter 2 of "Drug Agent U.S.A." reveals that generally speaking, if the
case isn't profitable moneywise, won't advance legal careers, or won't
enhance their political aspirations, most prosecutors tend to ignore,
stonewall, discourage, and sidestep the little cases. They're just not
interested.
It seems logical that prosecutors don't want to waste their time on the
little busts because, if they win the cases, there's no glory or big
reputations to be made. On the other hand, if they lose too many, it could
ruin their reputation, derail their careers, and hinder political ambitions
for higher office. From a business point of view, It's smarter to play the
odds when their in your favor. I'd do the same thing, and so would most
people if they were ambitious lawyers who want to climb the ladder to
higher office. But, that's part of the problem -- politics!
Perhaps politicians and bureaucrats at the top are also knowingly "playing
the game" -- to hang on to their big-paying jobs with billions of dollars
worth of assets at their disposal, plus large expense accounts. If the Drug
War is won, they'll be out of a job. Maybe that's what Yout meant when he
said, "there is in Washington neither the understanding nor the political
will to win." I believe both.
End result: Everybody claims to want to stop the plague of drugs and drug
addiction, but no one wants to make the little busts if there's no money or
glory to be made. And the drug use continues to spread without being
stopped or controlled. Obviously, we need a new strategy.
Conclusion
1. Federal agents aren't effective in stopping or slowing the drugs from
coming into the country. Many other people, like Levine who know enough to
make factual comments, say that the amount of drugs seized amount to only
about 10% of the total volume. Even if the percentage was increased to 50%
or more, it would only mean that the price would go up slightly. That would
spur the manufacture of drugs already being made within the United States -
- and make it even more difficult to control.
2. The production of crack and increasing cultivation of marijuana, for
example, is made in the United States. Spending billions in bribes (by
various names) to South America can't and won't do anything to solve the
home-grown problem that is rapidly taking over. Added to that is the
diversion of thousands of other drugs (besides marijuana, crack, cocaine,
and heroin) that are all but overlooked by politicians at higher levels,
and by the media. The little busts are so common, they just aren't worth
mentioning.
3. The "war" on Panama to capture Manuel Noriega didn't solve the
Panamanian or Bolivian problem. A recent TV program mentioned that when
Noriega controlled Panama he also controlled drug distribution. Now that
he's in prison (at what cost?) there are about a dozen more relatively
unknown and uncontrolled dealers who have quickly and eagerly stepped into
his place -- and taken over.
South American drug manufacturers are like mushrooms. When you step on a
mushroom it releases spores that create hundreds more. Stamping on the big
ones only creates hundreds of smaller ones who sprout up overnight and take
their place. Ditto with drug dealers. Nailing Noriega didn't solve the
problem. When he was operational they knew who it was and could take some
action. Now, they don't know who's in charge, who the dealers are, where
the drugs are coming from or going to, or what to do about it. The problem
now is worse than ever!
4. District Attorneys are reluctant to prosecute ("waste their time") on
small cases. Ditto with Police Departments. That's why there are millions
of buyers who make it profitable for dealers to accept the risks of jail.
If we can't stop the source, why not try a different tactic as Michael
Levine's book suggests -- hit the users to reduce the demand!
The history of Drug Wars indicates it's another quagmire like Vietnam.
We'll never win it by fighting the war like a standard, organized military
operation. It's time to try guerrilla warfare; by sniping at recreational
drug users with an all-out war against them!
Drug Wars - CrimeFighter Style
After working the DDT Patrol for a few weeks or months, you'll probably see
or hear about drug use and sources of supply. If you have experience in
playing an undercover role, and have mastered your camcorder and other
electronic equipment, you may be ready to join the CrimeFighter NARC squad.
If you haven't worked the DDT Patrol for a few weeks or months you might
not have any inside information on drug users and drug dealers. If not,
there's another way to obtain leads: advertise for them.
Buy and distribute "reward brochures" from We-Tip that offers to pay "up to
$1,000" for information concerning illegal drug use. Put your phone number
(rented from an answering service) as the person to contact. Payment of the
reward to a tipster is contingent on conviction. When you collect a larger
reward, you pay the tipster his $100 to $200 according to Crime Stopper's
formula. Or, when suitably dressed for the role, ask street people to
locate a drug dealer's place of business such as a crack house. Sooner or
later you'll get leads.
If you read the book "Undercover," you'll learn how to flip users to get
names and addresses of other users and their dealers. You'll find out one
lead often becomes two or more, and it becomes a pyramid of leads.
Stakeouts
If you know of, or learn where a dealer lives and operates, stake out the
place of business or stash house. Make camcorder movies of the drug traffic
and license plate numbers of about a dozen cars or more that make pit
stops. When possible, use the 12:1 zoom feature of a camcorder to get
close-ups of buyer's faces and license plates. After getting the evidence
on tape: (a) Contact the FBI and negotiate for a suitable reward for the
bust of the dealer. When an agreement is reached, and in writing, give them
the information they need, including a copy of the videotapes showing many
buyers going in and out of the place of suspected drug-related business.
The videotapes of suspects making pit stops at the buyer's place of
business will provide them with probable cause to get a warrant for a
search of the premises.
Let the FBI make the arrests. But be aware they may want to flip the dealer
to nail his suppliers. They may let him off the hook (and even stay in
business) in exchange for additional information. Your negotiations for a
reward should allow for plea bargaining to a lesser charge, dismissals,
errors and omissions of police, and indifferent prosecutors. Nail down a
specific minimum reward amount plus 50% of all fines and forfeitures so
that no matter what happens to the case afterwards, you know you'll get
paid an agreed-upon amount. And get it in writing from an FBI agent.
If negotiations for a reward isn't possible because there was no time to
negotiate, or if the agency doesn't want to pay a "decent" reward, assert
your right to be prosecutor (that's what Qui Tam is for). Plea bargain with
the defendant for lesser charges in exchange for a suitable lawsuit award.
Use RICO civil suit for prosecution in addition to or in lieu of criminal
charges -- where you get 50% of the fines and forfeitures when there are
significant amounts involved and include the fruits of criminal activity.
The FBI will obtain names and addresses of suspected users from the DMV via
the license plate numbers shown on your videotapes. Search and arrest
warrants would be obtained based on probable cause. Immediately after the
dealer is busted the warrants would be served on the users. It's a good
possibility that arresting officers would find incriminating evidence of
drugs or other contraband on the premises or in their vehicles. That's all
they need to make an arrest.
Negotiate the same deal for drug users, or when necessary, use Qui Tam to
prosecute them to get federal rewards plus 50% of fines and forfeitures,
when applicable. The FBI probably won't be interested in the small fry
anyway. If so, you can take over as prosecutor via Qui Tam law. Use civil
suits to extract payment for your undercover time. The concurrent criminal
charge will provide leverage to get an friendly settlement of your civil
suit in exchange for downgrading or dismissing the pending drug charges.
Under 3059, you qualify for a reward and have the legal right to be the
prosecutor. If you have the experience, you won't need a lawyer for plea
bargaining. Very few will want a trial if you're willing to let them buy
their way out of jail. When they insist on their innocence, turn them over
to the regular prosecutor and apply for federal rewards. When and if
they're convicted or change their mind and plead guilty, initiate a civil
suit to be paid for your undercover time.
When they can afford it, users will gladly accept the chance to settle the
problem out of court for just $1,000 in exchange for a suspended sentence
or reduced charges from a felony to a misdemeanor. If they insist on a
trial, they'll probably wind up paying more than $1,000 in lawyer's fees
anyway, and might lose the case and face jail time and a criminal record --
if they don't already have one.
You can recommend Probation without Adjudication for first-time offenders.
That means, if there are no repeat violations during a 12 month period, the
charges will be dropped and no criminal sentence is on their record.
If the FBI wants to prosecute all users, to get official credit for their
bureau, a suitable reward of $1,000 per user should be negotiated in lieu
of the rewards under 3059 and 886.
If you make the arrest or provide the information that leads to the arrest
and there are rewards pending (3059 and 886), you have the right to be the
prosecutor. If the FBI (or others) wants to prosecute, they have to get
your permission. That gives you leverage to negotiate a suitable reward.
When you get a few leads and informants working for you, you should be able
to snare at least 10 drug users per month who pay you $1,000 or more, each.
That's how you can make $100,000 a year. (Plus bonuses of rewards from
dealer busts and your 50% share of resultant fines and forfeitures.)
Part II - Reward Laws
In addition to the catch-all reward law for any felony anywhere (18: 3059),
there's another reward law that concerns Drug Abuse Prevention:
Title 21, Section 886
Payment and Advances
"(a) Payment to informers. The Attorney General is authorized to pay any
person, from funds appropriated for the Drug Enforcement Administration,
for information concerning a violation of this title, such sum or sums of
money as he may deem appropriate, without reference to any moieties or
rewards to which such person may otherwise be entitled by law."
Unofficial interpretation: If, for example, a CrimeFighter were to provide
information leading to the arrest of a drug dealer, he or she would be
first entitled up to $25,000 as a reward under section 3059, plus an
additional amount under section 886. The reward amount under section 886
isn't specific. It's under the discretion of the DEA (and FBI). But, this
reward can be paid even though the tipster receives a reward from another
source. (Most reward laws prohibit "double-dipping," but this one
intentionally provides a bonus reward when directly related drug activity
is involved.)
"Reimbursement for purchase of controlled substances. Moneys expended from
appropriations of the Drug Enforcement Administration for purchases of
controlled substances and subsequently recovered shall be reimbursed to the
current appropriation for the Bureau."
Unofficial interpretation: When and if money used to make purchases in
sting operations is recovered, it is to be put back where it came from.
Sometimes the sting operation isn't successful and the money is "lost," or
stolen!
"Advance of funds for enforcement purposes. The Attorney General is
authorized to direct the advance of funds by the Treasury Department in
connection with the enforcement of this title."
Unofficial interpretation: Authorizes general funding for the DEA and
would, it seems, cover the cost of miscellaneous items and expenses to set
up a sting operation. It might also authorize the FBI to pay an alternate
form of compensation to a CrimeFighter to provide a "cover" in setting up
a sting operation.
(Incidentally, David Wheeler, a DEA informant and convicted drug dealer, is
reported to have been paid $285,000 for services rendered to the DEA. The
pocketbook "Deep Cover," mentioned later on, gives the full story.)
A former law enforcement agent, Mr. X (who prefers to be anonymous) who
worked drug details, now retired, claims has recently collected hundreds of
thousands of dollars in the last year alone and said that 21 USCS 886
allows the FBI to award 25% of all fines and forfeitures, up to $150,000
per case.
Mr. X also mentioned, "I have found the FBI to be very trustworthy in
paying this money." (Note: The FBI took over control of DEA in 1980.)
You can deal either with the DEA or FBI for a reward to be paid under 21
USCS 886. After reading the book "Deep Cover," you may lean towards the FBI
as more reliable and trustworthy. But, it might depend more on the agent
you deal with.
"Original Information"
The wording "original information" means that once you have disclosed the
details to any law enforcement agency it is no longer original information.
You might collect a reward from the first party, but no one else if the
wording of their law specifies "original information." Look for that
phrase. If you give the information to Crime Stoppers, for example, and
later try to sell it to Customs, the information is no longer original
information and you would lose the larger Customs reward.
State Rewards
Most states have provisions to pay rewards for information on drug
violations but they may be buried in forfeiture laws.
Example: Arizona's forfeiture law, 13-4315, has a provision for: "Payment
of awards for information or assistance leading to a civil or criminal
proceeding under this (drug law) title."
When such provisions are available in state forfeiture laws, it may be
possible to obtain 50% of the forfeitures and fines from lawbreakers as
well as obtain rewards under federal laws.
The 13-4315 law also says that "Fines that are not suspended constitute a
lien until paid." If a large fine can't be paid right away, it remains in
force as a lien on the lawbreaker's future assets.
Drug-Related Fines and Penalties
For an example, I extracted the essence of Arizona drug laws and itemized
them in abbreviated form for your reference. Each state law will vary
slightly. Some may impose harsher or lenient penalties. In most cases,
assume all violations of drug laws are felonies unless stated otherwise in
your own state's Revised Statutes.
An analysis of Arizona drug laws reveals: 99% of violations are felonies;
that the minimum fine (range) is $750 and up to $2,000 or three times the
value of drugs found, involved in or giving rise to the charge, but not
more than $150,000; Fines for violations involving "hard" drugs (cocaine,
heroin, etc) increase to a maximum of $250,000; One of the provisions of
most fines under drug laws includes the statement "A judge shall not
suspend any part or all of the imposition of any fine required by this
section."
Felonies are rated by classes, with class 1 being the most serious and
class 2 through 6 being decreasingly less serious. Penalties, fines, and
forfeitures are adjusted according to the many factors involved in each
case. It's not possible to state a specific fine and penalty for each class
of felony.
Here's a table to estimate your rewards (50% of the fines and forfeitures,
plus other rewards from USCS 3059 and 886.) To calculate your approximate
rewards, assume the fine is the minimum stated in the law: $750 for
marijuana use, to $100,000 for Class 1 drug violations.
Class 1 from $100,000 to $150,000
Class 2 from $50,000 to $100,000
Class 3 from $25,000 to 50,000
Class 4 from $10,000 to $25,000
Class 5 from $5,000 to $10,000
Class 6 from $750 to $2,000
(Remember, in most cases you can convert these fines to lawsuit awards.)
Abbreviated drug laws - penalties
Marijuana
Possession
less than 1# = class 6 felony
between 1# but less than 8 # = class 5 felony
more than 8# = class 4 felony.
Selling
less than 1# = class 4 felony
more than 1# = class 3 felony
Growing
less than 1# = class 5 felony
more than 1# = class 3 felony
Transporting
less than 1# = class 3 felony
more than 1# = class 2 felony.
Minimum fine $750, maximum $150,000.
Prescription Drugs
Possession or use = class 1 misdemeanor - Fines: up to a maximum of $2,500
Sells or transports = class 6 felony - Fines: up to a maximum of $250,000
Dangerous Drugs - Cocaine, Heroin, etc.
Possess or use = class 4 felony
sell = class 3 felony
Possess equipment to manufacture = class 4 felony
Manufacture = class 3 felony
Administer drugs to others = class 2 felony
Obtain by fraudulent means = class 3 felony
transport for sale = class 2 felony
Drugs to Minors
No person shall employee any minor in any capacity involving any part of
the selling or distribution of drugs
Employ any minor = class 2 felony
sell or transfer to any minor = class 2 felony
Drugs on School Grounds
It is prohibited for any person to be present with one or more persons,
within 300 feet of a school;
to possess, use, or sell marijuana. = class 2 felony
to possess, use, or sell hard drugs = class 2 felony
* * * * * *
Conclusion: Anyone selling or dealing in illegal drugs would be prosecuted
under RICO laws. Drug users who don't sell it (and make a profit) wouldn't
come under RICO, but CrimeFighters would be eligible for basic felony
rewards under 3059 and 886, plus a CrimeFighter civil suit award.
CrimeFighter should negotiate for Federal rewards under 3059 and 886 for a
minimum reward of $500 + $500 for users, depending on the kind of drugs,
and $5,000 to $50,000 for dealers depending on the quantity and value of
drugs seized.
In addition, any cash found in the drug dealer's place of business would be
confiscated as drug proceeds, and the CrimeFighter could get half of the
amount -- often a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars!
If a CrimeFighter videotaped about a dozen or so buyer's license plates, he
or she could make about $600 per buyer (15 - 20 buyers?) or about $20,000
for one week's stake-out and movie-making effort, plus an extra reward of
$5,000 to $25,000 for the dealer. A full time Narc CrimeFighter, working
with the FBI, could make $200,000 a year. A hustler, like Michael Levine,
could make a million! After you read his books, I'm sure you'll agree.
Recommended reading for Narc CrimeFighters
Five pocket books: "Undercover," "Deep Cover," "Drug Agent U.S.A.,"
"Cocaine Wars," and "Rough Justice," Total is about $25. They're listed in
CRIMCAT. They're educational, and fascinating reading.
F9 for next Chapter