Iowa Troopers steal $1oo,ooo

reason.com/blog/2014/10/01/iowa-troopers...100000-in-poker-winn

"The Des Moines Register highlights an Iowa forfeiture case, the subject of a federal lawsuit filed this week, in which state troopers took $100,000 in winnings from two California poker players traveling through the state on their way back from a World Series of Poker event in Joliet, Illinois. The case illustrates several of the themes I discussed in a recent column explaining how cops became highway robbers:"...

Iowa, where the highwaymen wear badges.

You have large amounts of cash, immediate guilt!

Perhaps the "herb" grinder in the trunk, you know, the one with marijuana in it, had a little something to do with it?

Now, I'm with Bob here on using State police to invent reasons to pull over anyone with an out-of-state plate and cite them for imaginary infractions for the purpose of generating increased revenue, but it's not an impossible leap once the dog discovered the cannabis in the grinder to believe the cash may be the result of nefarious deeds, particularly when using a rental car.

Didn't the poker players have any documentation on them which accounted for the cash? When you hit it big in a casino they make you fill out some tax forms, that you receive a copy of, before your winnings are transferred to you. Why wouldn't a professional poker tour do the same?

reason.com/blog/2014/11/10/its-so-easy-t...-stuff-with-civil-fo


The New York Times listens in on recordings of civil forfeiture seminars and discovers that cops like to take people's stuff, especially if it's really nice:

In one seminar, captured on video in September, Harry S. Connelly Jr., the city attorney of Las Cruces, N.M., called [seizable assets] "little goodies." And then Mr. Connelly described how officers in his jurisdiction could not wait to seize one man's "exotic vehicle" outside a local bar.

"A guy drives up in a 2008 Mercedes, brand new," he explained. "Just so beautiful, I mean, the cops were undercover, and they were just like 'Ahhhh.' And he gets out, and he's just reeking of alcohol. And it's like, 'Oh, my goodness, we can hardly wait.'"

As that case illustrates, civil forfeiture—which allows police to take property allegedly linked to a crime without going to the trouble of charging, let alone convicting, the owner—is not just for drug offenses anymore. It also can be used to grab cars and other assets that police say are connected to offenses such as drunk driving, shoplifting, solicitation of prostitutes, and statutory rape. The opportunities for such legal theft are so numerous, in fact, that cops are getting picky:

The seminars offered police officers some useful tips on seizing property from suspected criminals. Don’t bother with jewelry (too hard to dispose of) and computers ("everybody’s got one already"), the experts counseled. Do go after flat screen TVs, cash and cars. Especially nice cars...."