Drug Dealers' Lamborghini, Jewelry Could Earn Police Millions

[erosion]

Drug Dealers' Lamborghini, Jewelry Could Earn Police Millions
NBC 4
May 21, 2007

Property seized from five convicted drug dealers could mean millions for Upstate law enforcement.

As part of their sentencing, a federal judge ordered the drug dealers to give up $36 million in goods.

One of the men, Tremayne Graham, was arrested in 2004. He was part of a drug ring that flooded Greenville with cocaine.

Federal prosecutors said that they have claimed some of the property seized from Graham and the other four men including a 2003 Lamborghini, a tour bus and an assortment of jewelry.

The property will be sold at an auction. All proceeds will go to local and federal law enforcement agencies, but prosecutors do not expect to collect all $36 million.

Link

 

[erosion]

I'd like to use this story to open a wider discussion on property seizure. Although there are many corruptable elements in the drug war, I see this as one of the more dangrerous ones. Our society is based on the sanctity of private property.

These laws don't just relate to drug laws, they apply to other crimes too. Its amazing that if you are involved in any crime (or accused of it), the police can confiscate anything they want. Even if only a small fraction of someones value was earned from crime, the police are able to take everything.

This is an area that I really don't know too much about, so lets open this issue up. Thoughts?

 

[drew345]

The goverment should not be able to seize his home while im against property seizure in any form the lamborghini and tour bus were obviously bought with illegal money. Then theres the tax issue he prolly didnt pay taxs on his drug income which is not fare to everyone else I mean I pay my taxs. On the other hand he couldent reasonably pay because it would be incriminating. This is one of those issues where both sides have legitament cases.

 

[phr]

I'd imagine that the accused could go to court over the items if they could prove that they weren't obtained with illegal proceeds. Otherwise, I see nothing wrong with it. This is one of the reasons why people launder drug money.

 

[Albert Walker]

This happened in my home town. What the story didnt say and the link below does is the main dealer was the son in law of the mayor of Atlanta. The availability of coke was not changed at all because of this bust.

Link

 

[Kalash]

This happened in my home town. What the story didnt say and the link below does is the main dealer was the son in law of the mayor of Atlanta. The availability of coke was not changed at all because of this bust.

Link

The availability never changes.

It was 2 months after my bust that people found out we'd been busted.
Not a huge thing, but one of my co-defendants was the largest dealer I knew of... not too big, but definitely could have made a decent living (decent being over $200,000 a year) from what they did.

No shortages were noted, mentioned, or complained about.




As for the property seizures, they're completely wrong.
Though... I say this on the basis that the laws are completely wrong.

As for the tax comment...
It's a benefit.
Risk of imprisonment is an added risk.
They help balance eachother out.

So... property seizures...

No.
Absolutely not.

They worked for their money, put their lives at risk in a government sanctioned black market. (By creating the laws, they willingly and knowingly gave up the right to tax drugs - the laws weren't created that long after prohibition. The government SANCTIONED the black drug market.)

They contributed a service to their community that the community desired STRONGLY enough to force them (or someone else) into the position they were in.

As long as society demands drugs, drug dealers are being demanded and created.
They are working FOR society at great personal risk.
They should be praised for what they do.

Their property was worked for, and they deserve to keep it.

The government doesn't deserve anything in this case.
When they created the laws, they gave up the authority to regulate the drug trade, tax the drug trade, and knowingly handed this authority to the drug cartels/future dealers.

This was a conscious choice on the government's part.
They deserve nothing but contempt for punishing those they put in power.
(At this point I mention Saddam Husein... We put him in power to attack him. I don't see this as being any different... "Oh! Look at the bad guy! Let's get him/them!" It's a diversionary tactic... In this case, the diversion is to take your eyes away from the constitutional restraints placed on the federal government that they have broken, and continue to rip away as they get more and more free.)

 

[dirtmcgirt]

heres a nice story of the RICO act in action to sieze the assets of organized crime.

when i was 19-20, i had about 1k in anabolic steroids... i was going to meet a "friend" to drop off a few hundred worth, not really making more than 30-50% profit.

saw them following me, lied their assses off on the police report about my consent to search vehicle, they didnt even pull meover i pulled into a diner to call my best friend and tell him to go tomy house and get my stash out.

anyways after all taht, they tell my mom she can pick up the car i was in the next day.

she goes there the next day, they telll her "oh detective asshole has filed siezure papers on it... even though its in your name, and although you may have proof you paid for it, you still need to prove you were the main driver of the car and had no knowledge of the illegal act that was committed"

tax dollars at work.... i plan on retired overseas as soon as possible, fuck this place... obviously im bitter even though this was near a decade ago LOL