Forfeiture business as usual

This wasn't supposed to happen here

[Reprinted from Issues & Views October 6, 2003]

The stories are filling the news pages more than ever these days -- that is, the corruption of law enforcement officers, who simply cannot resist the temptations inherent in consorting with the sellers and buyers in the illegal drug trade. Issues & Views has visited the subject of asset forfeiture many times, and it only gets worse with age. [See here, here, and here.]

Handsome remuneration flows not only from the seized drugs, which can be parlayed in the marketplace, but also from any other property that the apprehended person might possess, such as automobiles, all the contents of his home, and the home itself. And when, after months of legal hassling, no criminal charges are brought against the arrested individual, it is the rare person who can ever retrieve from the arresting authorities all of his stolen property. Now, with the USA Patriot Act expanding the uses of asset forfeiture, we can look forward to greater numbers of people being affected by the practice.

In "Local law enforcement cashes in on forfeitures," in Florida's Tribune (9/29/03), Mark Pollio writes about recent events in St. Lucie County:

Local law enforcement agencies have been cashing in on crime more than ever lately, using forfeitures to line their budget coffers. When law enforcement agencies break up a drug deal, burglary ring or other criminal operation, they often come across cars and cash used by the criminals involved. The law enforcement agency has the right to try and claim the money or other items seized. In 2002, by mid-September, local law enforcement agencies had filed 26 forfeiture requests. By the same time this year, the number of forfeiture requests had jumped to 33.

The register rang to the tune of $109,814 for all of 2002. A large drug bust this year is likely to send the year-end total through the roof. Assistant State Attorney Lev Evans, who handles the legal work for local forfeitures, said he is about to file forms to recoup $242,000 from a recent drug bust. "Every now and then we get some huge ones," Evans said. "In this case the deputies found a few pounds of marijuana and several cabinets full of cash." . . .

The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office has been the benefactor of the vast majority of local forfeitures. Along with the expected $242,000 in cash, this year's haul has already included a 1997 Camaro and a 2002 Lexus GS.

And in Memphis, two police department employees have been indicted in connection with disappearing valuables and drugs from the police station. The men were well positioned to act as distributors of seized property, one being the supervisor of the property and evidence room, and the other, the inventory clerk.

Christine Connolly of Forfeiture Endangers American Rights (FEAR) reports that, in addition to caches of drugs, FBI agents located $300,000 worth of vehicles, and expect their investigation to lead to a multimillion dollar operation.

From all appearances, it looks like asset forfeiture and the corruption that comes in its wake will be a part of "law enforcement" for some time to come.

For more information on the subject of asset forfeiture and efforts to reform the practice, visit the websites of:

Forfeiture Endangers American Families (FEAR) and

The Kansas City Star's special site on journalist Karen Dillon's award-winning articles on the subject.

Copyright © 2010 Issues & Views