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[ARIZONA REPUBLIC February 20, 1994]
HOW THE COPS CAN SEIZE YOUR PROPERTY
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by William P. Cheshire
Senior Editorial Columnist
ARIZONA REPUBLIC
If you pick up any Wednesday's USA TODAY and turn to the D section,
you'll find a full page of cash, cars and real estate that the Drug
Enforcement Administration has seized under its
property-confiscation authority.
But all this stuff belonged to drug dealers, and they had it coming,
right? Wrong. Those listed, the government is careful to point
out, "are not necessarily criminal defendants or suspects, nor does
the appearance of their names in this notice necessarily mean that
they are the target of DEA investigations or other activities."
According to Jarret B. Willstein, associate editor of the FINANCIAL
PRIVACY REPORT, police seize the property of an estimated 5,000
innocent persons every week. (Willstein's article is reprinted in
the libertarian publication UNCOMMON SENSE, Box 3625, Kingman, AZ
86402.)
"Agencies now confiscating property from innocent Americans," says
Willstein, include the FBI, the Coast Guard, the Food and Drug
Administration, the U.S. Postal Service, the Bureau of Land
Management, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as "thousands
of state and local police departments."
Volusia County, Fla., police routinely ask people stopped for
traffic violations how much money they're carrying, Willstein says.
If the motorists have more than a few hundred dollars on them, the
money is seized on grounds of "suspicious behavior." Police also
seize jewelry and expensive cars. "In the last four years," says
Willstein, "these legalized highway robberies have brought in $8
million."
POLICE EYE TRAVELERS
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Even paying for airline tickets can be dangerous. The DEA and local
police operate surveillance units at all major airports. According
to Willstein, "virtually everyone you deal with at an airport --
from the ticket clerks to the baggage handlers -- is paid a 10
percent bounty for turning you in to the DEA if you buy a ticket
with cash or if you look 'suspicious'."
The CBS program 60 MINUTES sent a well-dressed reporter to airports
in several major cities, where he purchased tickets with cash. In
every instance DEA agents were waiting to seize his money.
The feds also keep a watchful eye on patrons of major hotels around
the country, have installed surveillance cameras at agricultural
supply houses and require salesmen to keep a record of people who
buy grow-lights, hoping to spot pot farms, Willstein reports.
Local police are no slouches, either.
Texas officers arrested a 49-year-old woman at Houston's Hobby
Airport five years ago when a drug dog scratched at her luggage,
Willstein says. A search revealed no drugs, but did turn up $39,100
-- money from an insurance settlement and the woman's 20-year
savings.
NO CHARGES BROUGHT
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The woman was charged with no crime and was able to document the
origin of the money. The cops kept it anyway.
Though not mentioned by Willstein, the case of Donald P. Scott shows
law enforcement at its worst. Using an improperly obtained search
warrant, 30 local and federal law enforcement officers broke down
the door of Scott's California home in October 1992. When Scott,
armed with a pistol, went to check on the commotion, the cops killed
him "in self-defense."
They said they suspected Scott of growing marijuana, but no
marijuana was found. After an exhaustive investigation, Ventura
County District Attorney Michael D. Bradbury concluded that the
raid "was motivated, at least in part, by a desire to seize and
forfeit the ranch for the government."
The D.A.'s report added this chilling tidbit: "In order to seize
and forfeit property under either California or federal law, there
is no requirement that an individual be arrested or charged
criminally." Got that?
You may have thought the Constitution protected you against
"unreasonable searches and seizures" and kept the government from
taking your property "without due process of law." These are mere
words on paper -- words increasingly disregarded by what some
people, including yours truly on especially gloomy days, suspect is
the vanguard of a police state.