After moving to the border state of Arizona, I learned quickly that it isn’t prudent to drive a car into Mexico because the Federal Police like to pull over “American-looking” tourists and shake them down for cash (yes, Virgina, the Mexican national police force does profile).
federale stopping carThe practice of Mexican police harassing traveling Americans for their cash is so prevalent, most insurance companies require a special rider on one’s insurance policy before covering a car trip into Mexico.
I used to think that this abuse of traveling Americans was just a “Federal Police” problem and could never happen here. However, as I opened both of my eyes and saw the big picture, I realized that American law enforcement was doing the same thing and that the American officers were much more efficient at theft by cop than are the Mexicans. While a Mexican Federal Policeman might shakedown a tourist for $50 in cash, the American officials are more adept at stealing houses, businesses and large amounts of cash even when the cash is not connected to a crime.
What Is RICO? The game in America is called theft by law enforcement and RICO is the name. Much of the growth of federal criminal procedures has been tied to the expanded use of RICO. RICO stands for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970. RICO has succeeded in blurring the lines between state and federal law enforcement and in overturning the protections inherent in the due-process guarantees of the U.S. Constitution, namely due process. The Fifth Amendment states that government cannot deprive citizens of life, liberty and property without due process of law. As the Patriot Act negates the Fourth Amendment protections, RICO does the same with the Fifth Amendment due process rights.
RICO is essentially the seizure of good and assets obtained as a result of ACCUSED criminal activity. At the inception of RICO in 1990, there were only three named federal criminal acts subject RICO confiscation of assets and they were treason, piracy, and counterfeiting. Now there are literally thousands of federal laws and regulations related to RICO. The mere violation of any one of them, no matter how unintentional and harmless the transgression, can lead to years of imprisonment for the convicted person and the forfeiture of all personal assets.
Here is where the police and federal law enforcement are no better than the criminals they purport to fight. Even when an individual is not charged or found innocent, their confiscated assets are still the property of the law enforcement agency. If a person is found not guilty in court, or the charges are dropped, the person can spend years trying to recover their assets. And sometimes, they never recover their stolen property.
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