Carrying too much cash is now probable cause of a crime?:
Anastasio Prieto of El Paso gave a state police officer at the weigh station permission to search the truck to see if it contained “needles or cash in excess of $10,000,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the federal lawsuit Thursday.
Prieto told the officer he didn’t have any needles but did have $23,700.
Officers took the money and turned it over to the DEA. DEA agents photographed and fingerprinted Prieto over his objections, then released him without charging him with anything.
Border Patrol agents searched his truck with drug-sniffing dogs, but found no evidence of illegal substances, the ACLU said. […]
DEA agents told Prieto he would receive a notice of federal proceedings to permanently forfeit the money within 30 days and that to get it back, he’d have to prove it was his and did not come from illegal drug sales.
They told him the process probably would take a year, the ACLU said.
H’mm. I didn’t realize that one of the dangers of carrying a large amount of cash is now the federal government.
Oh yes….you didn’t know that? It’s called The RICOH Act passed by Congress several years ago to fight “the war on drugs”.
And, you thought The HomeLand Security was a threat to your consitutional rights?
The RICOH Act gives feds the right to actually steal all your property AND money without due process. How do you think the DEA and the ATF gets all the funds to buy the brand new high-tech toys that they get to play with at our expense? – from all of the money and property they confiscate from private citizens.
Federal law enforcement is a misnomer. It is now a private federal army operating carte blanc outside of the Constitution and any state laws that gets in it’s way.
I have been completely dismayed why the ACLU hasn’t spent more resources going after the RICOH Act which IS clearly unconstitutional. The only reason I can come up with is either the ACLU is on the federal dole or they have used all of their financial resources persecuting religious organizations in the federal courts and have no time for anything else.