Nexus - 0213 - New Times Magazine-pages

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THE FOURTH REICH - TOWARDS AN AMERICAN POLICE STATE say 3, 4, or 5 owners of real estate, property, tracks when they begin to understand the owns it from the time the crime occurred in a vehicle, a plane, a boat, etc. have bought implications of this. There may be no such 1989 and can seize it in forfeiture when it and paid for the property or item in good thing as clear title in the US as the wishes. faith, and are unaware of any prior criminal Department of Justice declares literally mil- activity related to that property. But if lions of properties vulnerable to potential CONCLUSION: owner 1 or 2 dealt or kept drugs on that forfeiture. a. Ss We are entering an unconstitutional quag- property (or did any other illegal activity) or There is a five-year statute of limitations mire of seizures, forfeitures, and lawsuits of even transported them in the car, boat, plane, _ in federal civil forfeitures (although the gov- credible dimensions. It is almost beyond etc., the Justice Department claims that it ernment is now arguing in a case before the belief to tis walter w oak nic ie ben - owns the property (via forfeiture/scizure Supreme Court that there is no statute of tn Amaation taday, The Se hia an: laws) from the point in time that it "became limitations, whatsoever). So, if the govern- — pol “ a eue-mamiher fer’ tainted with the crime" and that all subse- ment gets the ‘innocent owner defence’ : liieraiieiions a A Joon terest quent owners have no rights. It also claims thrown oul, it has five years after the first f Ya & me ae r m fe a that it is entitled to all income from that alleged illegal use to make a claim against * “sii cs —— yt aed property from the time it was “tainted with the property, no matter how many times the omen ; 3 —— vm nee — the crime” until the seizure and forfeiture, property has changed hands in the interim. Sea onstitutional guarantees whether the lapse was a year, of ten years. The last owner gets burned, but he will sue © Privacy, or simply the use of cash, are The Department of Justice holds that buyers all prior owners for not having gotten the i™Poverished, jailed, or both. 3, 4, or 5, who legally paid for the property good title he thought he got. A growing number of our police and gov- and hold title to it, can have it seized from Let's look at a large example. Let's say emment officials no longer necessarily - them at any point in the future. that in 1989, XYZ Company dealt drugs out Tesent justice and protection, but are being Imagine how many of us own a home or _ of its offices on the 32nd floor of the Empire corrupted with their new-found power and vehicle which may have hada former owner State Building, which is owned by R- bility to share in the loot; and everyone is who was a drug dealer (or who violated any Corporation. The Empire State Building is beginning to be Suspicious of everyone else, one of the more than 100 laws for which for- later sold in 1991 to Japanese interests (J- and especially of the police and government feiture is permitted). The Department of Corporation). XYZ Company officials are Officials - a growing number of whom are Justice says that we do not have good title to arrested and indicted on drug charges in beginning to look and act more like their that home or vehicle, that the goverment 1992. At what point who legally has title to Gestapo and KGB counterparts every day. can seize it at any time. Mortgage lenders, the Empire State Building? According to This is not the America this writer grew up real estate brokers (or investors), title com- the Justice Department, not R-Corporation in! Welcome to the USSA - a branch of the panies, landlords, are going to freeze in their and not J-Corporation. The government New World Order! eo owns it from the time the crime occurred in 1989 and can seize it in forfeiture when it wishes. Vol 2, No 13 - 1993 NEXUS*63 63 ————$_———aa