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Winchester NH government stealing a mans belongings

Started by Jim Johnson, February 06, 2014, 09:02 PM NHFT

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dalebert

"There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always—do not forget this, Winston—always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever."

Tom Sawyer


Russell Kanning


WithoutAPaddle

#4
The Washington Post recently ran a substantial, three or four day feature on the police seizing property and being motivated to do so because the police department that makes the seizure shares in the reallocation of the seized property.  I believe it began a week ago Sunday and ran maybe through Wednesday.  Regrettably, I can't think of a key word to search for that will aid in expediently locating it.

I'd think that there is some practical way to pull up a newspaper's front page for a given date, but I haven't previously given any thought about how one might do that.

WithoutAPaddle

#5
Quote from: WithoutAPaddle on September 25, 2014, 05:52 AM NHFT
The Washington Post ran a substantial, three or four day feature on the police seizing property and being motivated to do so because the police department that makes the seizure shares in the reallocation of the seized property.  I believe it began a week ago Sunday and ran maybe through Wednesday.  Regrettably, I can't think of a key word to search for that will aid in expediently locating it.

I'd think that there is some practical way to pull up a newspaper's front page for a given date, but I haven't previously given any thought about how one might do that.

Well, I still don't know how to access a newspaper's specific day front page, but it was a simple matter of using the Washington Post site search engine to search for the term "seizure", because the article I was looking for was the first listed result.  I don't expect to get lucky that often.  It could be that the Washington Post has "goosed" its search engine to prioritize features that it wants to have considered for journalism awards, as they are one of the few "national" print newspapers that actually spends money to produce general interest features.  Anyway:

www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2014/09/06/stop-and-seize/ 

Stop and seize
Aggressive police take hundreds of millions of dollars from motorists not charged with crimes


Tom Sawyer

Quote from: WithoutAPaddle on September 25, 2014, 06:01 AM NHFT
Quote from: WithoutAPaddle on September 25, 2014, 05:52 AM NHFT
The Washington Post ran a substantial, three or four day feature on the police seizing property and being motivated to do so because the police department that makes the seizure shares in the reallocation of the seized property.  I believe it began a week ago Sunday and ran maybe through Wednesday.  Regrettably, I can't think of a key word to search for that will aid in expediently locating it.

I'd think that there is some practical way to pull up a newspaper's front page for a given date, but I haven't previously given any thought about how one might do that.

Well, I still don't know how to access a newspaper's specific day front page, but it was a simple matter of using the Washington Post site search engine to search for the term "seizure", because the article I was looking for was the first listed result.  I don't expect to get lucky that often.  It could be that the Washington Post has "goosed" its search engine to prioritize features that it wants to have considered for journalism awards, as they are one of the few "national" print newspapers that actually spends money to produce general interest features.  Anyway:

www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2014/09/06/stop-and-seize/ 

Stop and seize
Aggressive police take hundreds of millions of dollars from motorists not charged with crimes


So as not to go all rantin' and ragin' on this topic...

I propose that to lighten the mood it be required by officers to talk like pirates... Avast ye Matey, give me that booty. etc  If they are going to be like pirates maybe they should go full on pirate.

Russell Kanning


WithoutAPaddle



Politics

Holder Announces Changes to Asset Forfeiture Program
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS   JAN. 16, 2015, 2:47 P.M. E.S.T.

WASHINGTON
— Attorney General Eric Holder is curbing the federal government's role in a civil asset forfeiture program involving local and state law enforcement agencies.

Holder says federal agencies will no longer take possession of assets seized by local law enforcement, unless the property includes firearms or and other materials that concern public safety.

The Justice Department has long allowed local law enforcement agencies to turn over seized assets to the federal government and then share in the proceeds.

The program was developed at a time when most states didn't have their own asset forfeiture laws and didn't have legal authority to forfeit seized assets.

But Holder says because all states now have civil or criminal asset forfeiture laws, it's no longer necessary for local law enforcement to turn over seized property.

Jim Johnson

Quote from: WithoutAPaddle on January 16, 2015, 05:45 PM NHFT


Politics

Holder Announces Changes to Asset Forfeiture Program
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS   JAN. 16, 2015, 2:47 P.M. E.S.T.

WASHINGTON
— Attorney General Eric Holder is curbing the federal government's role in a civil asset forfeiture program involving local and state law enforcement agencies.

Holder says federal agencies will no longer take possession of assets seized by local law enforcement, unless the property includes firearms or and other materials that concern public safety.

The Justice Department has long allowed local law enforcement agencies to turn over seized assets to the federal government and then share in the proceeds.

The program was developed at a time when most states didn't have their own asset forfeiture laws and didn't have legal authority to forfeit seized assets.

But Holder says because all states now have civil or criminal asset forfeiture laws, it's no longer necessary for local law enforcement to turn over seized property.

Now local governments get to keep most of what they seize.

WithoutAPaddle

Quote from: Jim Johnson on January 16, 2015, 05:54 PM NHFT
Now local governments get to keep most of what they seize.

That is the remaining problem.  On The News Hour this evening, they said that there are a couple of towns in Texas that fully fund their capital acquisitions budget by those forfeitures.

Russell Kanning

I think the town of Italy Texas gets all their goodies from "freeway robbery"

WithoutAPaddle

#12
When I read this headline in Foster's online, I was ready to support her without reading the story.  But when I saw how much money she had...


Barrington woman arrested in
raid contests civil forfeiture


   
    By Brian Early
    bearly@fosters.com


    Posted Aug. 18, 2015 at 4:33 PM

        CONCORD — A Barrington woman has denied allegations that $244,028 cash seized during a raid of her home were gained through heroin sales, challenging the forfeiture claims against the cash and other items seized at her home.

        Crystal Watson, 34, was arrested at her home on Michael Drive in Barrington on April 7 for numerous drug charges regarding the distribution of heroin and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Watson has pled not guilty to the six federal indictments against her and jury selection is scheduled to take place on Dec. 1.

        The U.S. Attorney's office has filed a civil suit against items seized at Watson's home they believe were obtained by drug money, which includes, along with the cash, land and buildings on two different property lots on Baxter Lake Recreation Area in Rochester, a 2012 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 truck with snow plow and three guns. In court filings, the case is "United States of America v. Two Hundred Forty Four Thousand Twenty Eight Dollars in U.S. Currency more or less, seized from Crystal Watson," continuing with a description of each item.

        In Watson's motion filed Monday by her attorney Jonathan Saxe, she denies the allegations filed against her in the civil suit. Saxe writes, "Watson is the legal and lawful owner of all ... described defendant property, with the exception of three firearms."

        Saxe argues the "plaintiff lacked probable cause to institute this proceeding," and that search and seizure of Watson's properties violated the Fourth Amendment and the seizure also violated the Fifth Amendment. In additional, Saxe argues the forfeiture "would be disproportionate" to the offenses alleged against Watson, thereby violating the Eighth Amendment."

        Watson also denies incriminating statements she allegedly made to law enforcement after her arrest, detailed verified complaint for forfeiture submitted U.S. Attorney's office in June.

        The complaint states that after law enforcement arrested Watson and read her Miranda rights to her, "Watson agreed to be interviewed. Watson admitted that all of the money seized from her home, the 2012 Chevrolet Silverado and the two log cabin trailers were purchased with drug proceeds from sales of heroin." Watson also detailed, according to the complaint, how often she bought heroin she distributed in the area.

        Watson also denies she told investigators that she "paid cash from drug proceeds for the 2012 Chevrolet Silverado after falsifying a pay stub to try to finance it in a plan to get her credit back in order."

        The charges against Watson stem from an undercover investigation, according to court documents, that began last October. During March, a confidential source wearing an audio recording device, worked with detectives to purchase heroin on three occasions in March. On one occasion, according to court documents, an undercover detective went with the confidential source and witnessed a drug buy.

        Watson has been held at Strafford County House of Corrections since her arrest under the direction of the U.S. Marshals and she will be detained until trial, court documents state.

        Last month, Watson through her attorney Saxe successfully petitioned the court to allow her to participate in the Strafford County House of Correction's Therapeutic Community Program. The Therapeutic Community Program is an intensive 90-day program where participants are segregated from the general inmate population and receive drug and alcohol counseling and therapy.

Tom Sawyer

Quote from: WithoutAPaddle on August 18, 2015, 07:58 PM NHFT
   
   ...the case is "United States of America v. Two Hundred Forty Four Thousand Twenty Eight Dollars in U.S. Currency more or less, seized from Crystal Watson,"

She has the burden of proving the money's innocence. The money is not a person at jeopardy of losing it's liberty, so it has no rights. Slam dunk they get the money.

That's why police are more interested in catching the money than catching the drugs. It has been documented in multiple jurisdictions that they do the interdiction on the traffickers returning with the cash rather than the inbound drugs.


WithoutAPaddle

#14
Quote from: Tom Sawyer on August 18, 2015, 09:01 PM NHFT
Quote from: WithoutAPaddle on August 18, 2015, 07:58 PM NHFT
   
   ...the case is "United States of America v. Two Hundred Forty Four Thousand Twenty Eight Dollars in U.S. Currency more or less, seized from Crystal Watson,"

She has the burden of proving the money's innocence. The money is not a person at jeopardy of losing it's liberty, so it has no rights. Slam dunk they get the money.

That's why police are more interested in catching the money than catching the drugs. It has been documented in multiple jurisdictions that they do the interdiction on the traffickers returning with the cash rather than the inbound drugs.

Since the defendant is, "Two Hundred Forty Four Thousand Twenty Eight Dollars in U.S. Currency...", it seems like the burden of proof is on the money to prove it wasn't the product of an illegal transaction.  We will now find out if money indeed "talks".


A while back, there were so many front page arrests of heroin dealers in Rochester that I found it hard to imagine that the business of selling heroin in that market could even have been profitable, what with that many seller.


BTW, a month ago, Seacoast Online announced that Foster's, which it now apparently "owns" in some capacity, had begun to use a subscription model and did not permit me free access to the articles I sought that day.  When I went back to that site a few days later, I had unimpeded free access.  About a decade ago, Fosters tried to go to a limited subscription bases, but abandoned that model shortly thereafter.

The Boston Globe, which has been on a subscription model for some time, roughly doubled its subscription fee on July 16th, from $3.99 a week to $.99 a day, so I simply "dropped" it.  For those who may be interested in reading the Globe for free, they allow a detected visitor 5 free stories a week, and since I have four internet addresses and four browsers, I figured I'd be able to use them to get 20 stories per month.  I know that some destination sites can trace a visitor back to an IP address, but I am on AOL which, last I knew, shared IP addresses between a large number of members, so I figured I was safe for 20 views. 

I never did push the limit of my multiple AOL internet accounts because someone told me that as long as I visited the site in "incognito" mode, there would be no enduring record of my recent visits.  I have now visited many more than 20 times this month with no impediments encountered.