Police, Prosecutors Use Asset Forfeitures to Lease SUVs, Customize Motorcycles, Install WiFi at Home, and More
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Craig Stedman spent more than $21,000 of drug forfeiture money to lease a 2016 Toyota Highlander. After Stedman was ordered to release records of hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional expenditures from “drug-related” forfeitures, he appealed to the Court of Common Pleas, arguing those records were shielded from public disclosure.
In Illinois, former LaSalle County prosecutor Brian Towne is charged with criminal activity for misconduct and misappropriating public funds because he spent asset forfeiture funds on an SUV, WiFi for his home, and local sports programs.
Local prosecutors, drug task forces, and other law enforcement agencies use asset forfeiture funds as their own personal slush funds. In many jurisdictions, there is little to no oversight of how the money is spent. And often no records are kept. Civil forfeiture laws are liberally construed, enabling police to seize cash and property merely suspected of being connected to criminal activity even if the owner is never charged with a crime. This makes a perverse incentive for cops to abuse the practice and reap huge profits.
For example, in Macomb County, Michigan, an audit of local prosecutor Eric Smith was approved after a lawsuit revealed more than $100,000 in questionable expenditures. The money was taken from the asset forfeiture fund and allegedly spent on furniture, birthdays, and retirement parties. On April 17, 2019, Michigan State Police removed records from Smith’s offices.
Back in Illinois, a Department of Justice Inspector General audit discovered that a police department spent $20,000 in equitable sharing funds to customize two lightly used motorcycles with decorative chrome and heated handgrips. And the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office has spent $7 million in asset forfeiture funds in the last five years, including money spent on one construction contract awarded to a company with ties to the D.A.’s staff.
Source: reason.com
You might be interested in:
Resilience and Security: Protecting Data Centers as Critical Infrastructure | Police seize property and cash in questionable raids | What is Civil Asset Forfeiture? | For The Record: “Seized” | Civil Forfeiture: Part One | JUSTICE MANUAL 9-113.000 – Forfeiture Settlements | Sustainability Mandates: Meeting New Environmental Regulations in Data Centers | Preparing for Legislative Shifts: Future-Proofing Your Data Center | Spending of Drug Money Questioned | Kentucky Man Battles Against Asset Forfeiture Laws | Risk Management in Data Center Development: A Legal Perspective | Maine Now Requires Criminal Conviction Before Property May Be Forfeited | Geopolitical Data Regulations: Navigating Data Sovereignty in a Fragmented World | President-elect Trump announces $20 billion foreign investment to build data centers —1/7/2025 | What is Civil Asset Forfeiture? | For The Record: “Seized” | Rep. Travis Grantham Explains HB2810 to Reform Civil Asset Forfeiture (2-17-21) | 21 U.S.C. § 853. CRIMINAL FORFEITURES | JLF’s Jon Guze Supports Alabama’s Civil-Asset Forfeiture Proposal | Frameworks & Accreditations: SOC 2, ISO 27001, and More | Sebastian Rucci – American Greed Episode 12 – Season 8 | Future of Data Center Architecture: Containerization, Serverless, and Beyond | Magazine Articles on Forfeiture Abuses | Police Seize Weapons in Civil Asset Forfeiture Case | Police Officer Arrested On Civil Asset Forfeiture Confusion | New Jersey Tightens Reins on Civil Asset Forfeiture
You might be interested in:
House Asset Seizure – Rucci Law | WHAT THE SUPREME COURT RULING COULD MEAN FOR CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE | Police Seize Car, Drive 56,000 Miles, Sell It Without Charging Owners With a Crime | What is Civil Forfeiture and Why Has It Become Controversial? | Timelines for Forfeiture Cases: A Comprehensive Guide | It Was a Good Week to Fight Civil Asset Forfeiture | Kansas Asset Forfeiture Investigation Part 2 | Senators urge Biden to enable agency to seize tankers of Iran oil | Home Asset Forfeiture – Rucci Law | Should the Supreme Court Take Action to Limit Civil Asset Forfeiture? | Asset Forfeiture Process – Rucci Law | NM End of Civil Asset Forfeiture Didn’t Increase Crime: Study | Equitable Sharing Programs: A Guide for Asset Owners | A Setback for Justice | Forfeiture Defense Strategies for Nonprofits | AI News – Civil Forfeiture | This Week’s Civil Forfeiture Outrages: Do People Facing Forfeiture Get Due Process? | Asset Recovery in Divorce – Protecting Your Assets | JUSTICE MANUAL 9-111.000 – Forfeiture/Seizure | Motion to Suppress in Forfeiture Cases | In Landmark Civil Asset Forfeiture Case, U.S. Supreme Court Holds Excessive Fines Clause of Eighth Amendment Applicable to States | DEA & TSA Take $82,000 Life Savings From Pittsburgh Retiree | Scathing Report Reveals ICE Directive Encouraging Agents to Seize Property for Financial Gain | Our Government Overlords
