One of the risks of carrying cash

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Cascadian

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I was goofing around and stumbled across this. I think most of us prefer to conduct some business in cash. I have always thought to myself I can prove I got it legally. Much like having anything confiscated it is harder and more costly than you would think. I am not bashing LEO's just sharing something I thought was worthwhile. It is a video of an attorney discussing the issues.

 
First never keep money where someone, LEO or not can see it.
You should use the large bills, which is $100.00.
Never give your money to a LEO, make LEO take it, give up nothing.
 
I was goofing around and stumbled across this. I think most of us prefer to conduct some business in cash. I have always thought to myself I can prove I got it legally. Much like having anything confiscated it is harder and more costly than you would think. I am not bashing LEO's just sharing something I thought was worthwhile. It is a video of an attorney discussing the issues.



Change the law? hahahahaha now that is funny. :LOL:
Maybe I'll just call my congressman or woman :devil:and see what they say. OH WAIT they are the ones who made this law I want them to unmake. :eek::rolleyes:
 
I was goofing around and stumbled across this. I think most of us prefer to conduct some business in cash. I have always thought to myself I can prove I got it legally. Much like having anything confiscated it is harder and more costly than you would think. I am not bashing LEO's just sharing something I thought was worthwhile. It is a video of an attorney discussing the issues.



I didn't mean all that sarcasm towards you or Joel. It was just out of frustration how much laws have changed in pass couple decades.

After reading it again I thought I need to be sure it wasn't taken wrong.
 
It is your opinion
It’s fine with me,I agree that they will not change the law. Most of the time LEO right that the money is bad money.
 
The Constitution says that we are not to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process. The law is wrong. If you can't prove the funds are from illegal sources then even the bad guy gets to keep the cash.
 
There is a cure for this unlawful acquisition of personal property.
Don't pull it out of your pocket!
They have to have a warrant to search you or at the very least probable cause.
If you don't volunteer the information or the property then they need a warrant to find it.
This goes along with the idea of them asking permission to search you or your property. The answer is always the same; "No thank you. I don't allow unwarranted searches."
You can fallow that up with; "I am invoking my 4th and 5th amendment protected rights to not answer any further questions or a search of my person or property."
Then you shut your mouth.
 
If you have ever traveled in East Texas then you probably are familiar with the town of Tenaha Texas.
Awhile back they were accused of stealing motorists cash as a regular scam they ran.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/05/texas.police.seizures/
Texas police shake down drivers, lawsuit claims


TENAHA, Texas (CNN) -- Roderick Daniels was traveling through East Texas in October 2007 when, he says, he was the victim of a highway robbery.

art.tenaha.cityhall.cnn.jpg

Police in the small East Texas town of Tenaha are accused of unjustly taking valuables from motorists.


1 of 2

corner_wire_BL.gif

The Tennessee man says he was ordered to pull his car over and surrender his jewelry and $8,500 in cash that he had with him to buy a new car.

But Daniels couldn't go to the police to report the incident.

The men who stopped him were the police.

Daniels was stopped on U.S. Highway 59 outside Tenaha, near the Louisiana state line. Police said he was driving 37 mph in a 35 mph zone. They hauled him off to jail and threatened him with money-laundering charges -- but offered to release him if he signed papers forfeiting his property.

"I actually thought this was a joke," Daniels told CNN.

But he signed.

"To be honest, I was five, six hundred miles from home," he said. "I was petrified."
video.gif
Watch CNN's Gary Tuchman try to question officials »

Now Daniels and other motorists who have been stopped by Tenaha police are part of a lawsuit seeking to end what plaintiff's lawyer David Guillory calls a systematic fleecing of drivers passing through the town of about 1,000.

corner_wire_TL.gif

Highway Robbery?
tztv.ac.360.image.jpg

The latest on the lawsuit claiming police are shaking down drivers in Texas on AC360.
Tonight, 10pm ET
1.gif

see full schedule »
corner_wire_BL.gif

"I believe it is a shakedown. I believe it's a piracy operation," Guillory said.

George Bowers, Tenaha's longtime mayor, says his police follow the law. And through her lawyers, Shelby County District Attorney Lynda Russell denied any impropriety.

Texas law allows police to confiscate drug money and other personal property they believe are used in the commission of a crime. If no charges are filed or the person is acquitted, the property has to be returned. But Guillory's lawsuit states that Tenaha and surrounding Shelby County don't bother to return much of what they confiscate.

Jennifer Boatright and Ron Henderson said they agreed to forfeit their property after Russell threatened to have their children taken away.

Like Daniels, the couple says they were carrying a large amount of cash --- about $6,000 -- to buy a car. When they were stopped in Tenaha in 2007, Boatright said, Russell came to the Tenaha police station to berate her and threaten to separate the family.

"I said, 'If it's the money you want, you can take it, if that's what it takes to keep my children with me and not separate them from us. Take the money,' " she said.

Don't Miss
The document Henderson signed, which bears Russell's signature, states that in exchange for forfeiting the cash, "no criminal charges shall be filed ... and our children shall not be turned over" to the state's child protective services agency.

Maryland resident Amanee Busbee said she also was threatened with losing custody of her child after being stopped in Tenaha with her fiancé and his business partner. They were headed to Houston with $50,000 to complete the purchase of a restaurant, she said.

"The police officer would say things to me like, 'Your son is going to child protective services because you are not saying what we need to hear,' " Busbee said.

Guillory, who practices in nearby Nacogdoches, Texas, estimates authorities in Tenaha seized $3 million between 2006 and 2008, and in about 150 cases -- virtually all of which involved African-American or Latino motorists -- the seizures were improper.

"They are disproportionately going after racial minorities," he said. "My take on the matter is that the police in Tenaha, Texas, were picking on and preying on people that were least likely to fight back."

Daniels told CNN that one of the officers who stopped him tried on some of his jewelry in front of him.

"They asked me, 'What you are doing with this ring on?' I said I had bought that ring. I paid good money for that ring," Daniels said. "He took the ring off my finger and put it on his finger and told me how did it look. He put on my jewelry."

Texas law states that the proceeds of any seizures can be used only for "official purposes" of district attorney offices and "for law-enforcement purposes" by police departments. According to public records obtained by CNN using open-records laws, an account funded by property forfeitures in Russell's office included $524 for a popcorn machine, $195 for candy for a poultry festival, and $400 for catering.

In addition, Russell donated money to the local chamber of commerce and a youth baseball league. A local Baptist church received two checks totaling $6,000.

And one check for $10,000 went to Barry Washington, a Tenaha police officer whose name has come up in several complaints by stopped motorists. The money was paid for "investigative costs," the records state.

Washington would not comment for this report but has denied all allegations in his answer to Guillory's lawsuit.

"This is under litigation. This is a lawsuit," he told CNN.

Russell refused requests for interviews at her office and at a fundraiser for a volunteer fire department in a nearby town, where she also sang. But in a written statement, her lawyers said she "has denied and continues to deny all substantive allegations set forth."

Russell "has used and continues to use prosecutorial discretion ... and is in compliance with Texas law, the Texas constitution, and the United States Constitution," the statement said.

Bowers, who has been Tenaha's mayor for 54 years, is also named in the lawsuit. But he said his employees "will follow the law."

"We try to hire the very best, best-trained, and we keep them up to date on the training," he said.

The attention paid to Tenaha has led to an effort by Texas lawmakers to tighten the state's forfeiture laws. A bill sponsored by state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, would bar authorities from using the kind of waivers Daniels, Henderson and Busbee were told to sign.

"To have law enforcement and the district attorney essentially be crooks, in my judgment, should infuriate and does infuriate everyone," Whitmire said. His bill has passed the Senate, where he is the longest-serving member, and is currently before the House of Representatives.

advertisement.gif

Busbee, Boatright and Henderson were able to reclaim their property after hiring lawyers. But Daniels is still out his $8,500.
 
If you have ever traveled in East Texas then you probably are familiar with the town of Tenaha Texas.
Awhile back they were accused of stealing motorists cash as a regular scam they ran.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/05/texas.police.seizures/
Texas police shake down drivers, lawsuit claims


TENAHA, Texas (CNN) -- Roderick Daniels was traveling through East Texas in October 2007 when, he says, he was the victim of a highway robbery.

art.tenaha.cityhall.cnn.jpg

Police in the small East Texas town of Tenaha are accused of unjustly taking valuables from motorists.


1 of 2

corner_wire_BL.gif

The Tennessee man says he was ordered to pull his car over and surrender his jewelry and $8,500 in cash that he had with him to buy a new car.

But Daniels couldn't go to the police to report the incident.

The men who stopped him were the police.

Daniels was stopped on U.S. Highway 59 outside Tenaha, near the Louisiana state line. Police said he was driving 37 mph in a 35 mph zone. They hauled him off to jail and threatened him with money-laundering charges -- but offered to release him if he signed papers forfeiting his property.

"I actually thought this was a joke," Daniels told CNN.

But he signed.

"To be honest, I was five, six hundred miles from home," he said. "I was petrified."
video.gif
Watch CNN's Gary Tuchman try to question officials »

Now Daniels and other motorists who have been stopped by Tenaha police are part of a lawsuit seeking to end what plaintiff's lawyer David Guillory calls a systematic fleecing of drivers passing through the town of about 1,000.

corner_wire_TL.gif

Highway Robbery?
tztv.ac.360.image.jpg

The latest on the lawsuit claiming police are shaking down drivers in Texas on AC360.
Tonight, 10pm ET
1.gif

see full schedule »
corner_wire_BL.gif

"I believe it is a shakedown. I believe it's a piracy operation," Guillory said.

George Bowers, Tenaha's longtime mayor, says his police follow the law. And through her lawyers, Shelby County District Attorney Lynda Russell denied any impropriety.

Texas law allows police to confiscate drug money and other personal property they believe are used in the commission of a crime. If no charges are filed or the person is acquitted, the property has to be returned. But Guillory's lawsuit states that Tenaha and surrounding Shelby County don't bother to return much of what they confiscate.

Jennifer Boatright and Ron Henderson said they agreed to forfeit their property after Russell threatened to have their children taken away.

Like Daniels, the couple says they were carrying a large amount of cash --- about $6,000 -- to buy a car. When they were stopped in Tenaha in 2007, Boatright said, Russell came to the Tenaha police station to berate her and threaten to separate the family.

"I said, 'If it's the money you want, you can take it, if that's what it takes to keep my children with me and not separate them from us. Take the money,' " she said.

Don't Miss
The document Henderson signed, which bears Russell's signature, states that in exchange for forfeiting the cash, "no criminal charges shall be filed ... and our children shall not be turned over" to the state's child protective services agency.

Maryland resident Amanee Busbee said she also was threatened with losing custody of her child after being stopped in Tenaha with her fiancé and his business partner. They were headed to Houston with $50,000 to complete the purchase of a restaurant, she said.

"The police officer would say things to me like, 'Your son is going to child protective services because you are not saying what we need to hear,' " Busbee said.

Guillory, who practices in nearby Nacogdoches, Texas, estimates authorities in Tenaha seized $3 million between 2006 and 2008, and in about 150 cases -- virtually all of which involved African-American or Latino motorists -- the seizures were improper.

"They are disproportionately going after racial minorities," he said. "My take on the matter is that the police in Tenaha, Texas, were picking on and preying on people that were least likely to fight back."

Daniels told CNN that one of the officers who stopped him tried on some of his jewelry in front of him.

"They asked me, 'What you are doing with this ring on?' I said I had bought that ring. I paid good money for that ring," Daniels said. "He took the ring off my finger and put it on his finger and told me how did it look. He put on my jewelry."

Texas law states that the proceeds of any seizures can be used only for "official purposes" of district attorney offices and "for law-enforcement purposes" by police departments. According to public records obtained by CNN using open-records laws, an account funded by property forfeitures in Russell's office included $524 for a popcorn machine, $195 for candy for a poultry festival, and $400 for catering.

In addition, Russell donated money to the local chamber of commerce and a youth baseball league. A local Baptist church received two checks totaling $6,000.

And one check for $10,000 went to Barry Washington, a Tenaha police officer whose name has come up in several complaints by stopped motorists. The money was paid for "investigative costs," the records state.

Washington would not comment for this report but has denied all allegations in his answer to Guillory's lawsuit.

"This is under litigation. This is a lawsuit," he told CNN.

Russell refused requests for interviews at her office and at a fundraiser for a volunteer fire department in a nearby town, where she also sang. But in a written statement, her lawyers said she "has denied and continues to deny all substantive allegations set forth."

Russell "has used and continues to use prosecutorial discretion ... and is in compliance with Texas law, the Texas constitution, and the United States Constitution," the statement said.

Bowers, who has been Tenaha's mayor for 54 years, is also named in the lawsuit. But he said his employees "will follow the law."

"We try to hire the very best, best-trained, and we keep them up to date on the training," he said.

The attention paid to Tenaha has led to an effort by Texas lawmakers to tighten the state's forfeiture laws. A bill sponsored by state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, would bar authorities from using the kind of waivers Daniels, Henderson and Busbee were told to sign.

"To have law enforcement and the district attorney essentially be crooks, in my judgment, should infuriate and does infuriate everyone," Whitmire said. His bill has passed the Senate, where he is the longest-serving member, and is currently before the House of Representatives.

advertisement.gif

Busbee, Boatright and Henderson were able to reclaim their property after hiring lawyers. But Daniels is still out his $8,500.
They need some good law suits against them. This is pure corruption and because they have gotten away with it, they have come to believe it is okay.

My church had a team go to Mexico, driving in big vans. They got shook down coming back across the border. They were held up and not allowed to cross over for hours. This is similar to keeping people's money and jewelry. I don't remember what happened or the outcome.
 
Whether you consent to a search or not matters little. Your fate is controlled by a dog and a cop. And all the cop has to say is that the the dog "alerted".
A long long time ago Americans lived in the land of the free. There is no such place anymore. And that is sad for the whole world.
 
Hiwall, you should always have a video camera that also records audio. When a drug dog alerts - he sits pointing at the place where the drugs are. The handler can make him jump on the car and get excited but he won't alert unless he smells drugs. If your state laws don't make it mandatory to get out of the vehicle then you remain in your vehicle and state your rights and then apply them. Most cops know what their limits are but when one of them go beyond that point then the court will throw out the case.
A long time ago people knew their rights and made sure that they were not subverted. The police expect your cooperation because everyone cooperates today. I don't and won't allow my rights to disappear.
 
A long time ago people knew their rights and made sure that they were not subverted. The police expect your cooperation because everyone cooperates today. I don't and won't allow my rights to disappear.

I think many people cooperate, but there are the runners and those who are oppositional about everything.
 
There are many laws and rights to protect you from the police. And that is all fine and well but when it is just you and the police on the scene, the police dictate anything they want. You can go to court and argue about it weeks or months later but at the scene the police tell you whatever law they decide.
 
I must have missed this thread... after 9-11 but before 2010... 2 friends and I bought and sold gold and silver every couple of years. One friend had an almost magic sense of when to buy or sell, he had a gift! He made me and another guy a lot of money along with himself.

Anywho! Since I was the one not working (disabled) I made the runs to the company we did business with, about 300 miles away in New Orleans.

I remember one trip in-particular... I was taking gold/silver coins and bullion to sell... $60,000.00 dollars worth. I sweated every mile of that 300 miles.

What I was doing was perfectly legal, the deal was arranged via phone the day before. Honest citizens going about their business... But... I knew if I got pulled over and 60K in gold/silver were found in my truck it would be years before we got it back if ever.

Thankfully everything went as planned. This law has to go!
 
We know that the people who have been searching cars know all the common hiding places and where to look. I've had my car searched a few times withing the border zones, which are really not at the border, but somehow quite a few miles from the border.

Does anyone have any ideas or tips where to stash some money if you are on a road trip? I keep mine in my purse, but wonder if I should have an alternative location. This might even be good in case a car get broken into. It seems that is becoming more common. I have kept rolls of quarters in my console, and loose change in my ashtray, but also keep change organized in small tackle organizers. If my car were to be broken into, someone could kind of hit a small jackpot.
 
My cars are in locked buildings when not in use. I do keep some change in the car and first aid kit, tools, an air pump a blanket and some clothes and boots. Sometimes I keep a gun in my car. If I need to carry money, I carry it on my person inconspicuously. Since a warrant is require to search me and my car I don't worry about that. I always have a gun on me unless I have to go some place that forbids me carrying. I rarely go to places like that. I have no fear of local cops as I know most of them by sight and they are good folks. When I travel I avoid states that don't recognize my CPL and I don't attract a lot of suspicion because I drive old cars that I keep in good shape.
Those "border stops" that are within 100 miles of the border are fun for me. I am mandated by law to stop but not to answer any questions or allow any searches. I have a piece of paper that I hold up to the window that states I am invoking my protected rights by remaining silent and refusing any searches. They try to get me to say something and then call the supervisor over and he lets me through. They play the game to get people to comply with what they want but when they get someone who knows what their rights are they know they have no reason to hold or search so they let you go. Most of the time I can avoid such confrontations by staying more than 100 miles from a border.
When I am stopped for traffic infraction (light not working or such) I have my registration, proof of insurance, drivers license and CPL ready to hand to the officer. I always ask why I was pulled over. I rarely go over the limit and I have been pulled over for going 5 under when there is no other traffic. As soon as I tell the cop that it is easier to go 5 under than it is to go 5 over they are usually in a better mood. Sometimes they are just interested in the car - I guess that it is unusual to see a 1970s car on the road. I do expect to get pulled over more often when I get my 1966 Ford on the road because it will be a bit more conspicuous than a stock car. I'm trying to select a color that will help it be less conspicuous but having it look like a cross between a Corvette, Opel GT and a Mustang is a lot to try to blend in with other traffic.
 
You gave permission to have you car searched ?!?!
The outside of the car and trunk were searched. The trunk was empty, so if my memory serves me right, they only did a visual look, but I was busy being chatted up by a LEO, so I really didn't see what exactly was going on. I suppose that is technically a search. I imagine a search as people standing outside the vehicle and everything is ransacked.

This happened when we were going back to Tucson from Kitt Peak observatory southwest of Tucson. There is a check point there and we saw it while we were heading to the observatory earlier in the day.

There are a team of agents who check out your car with mirrors on extensions and are probably looking for stowaways and maybe drugs or other stuff. There were probably dogs as well, but I have no memory of that because it was several years ago. We did not have to get out, but each one of us (3) had an agent talking to us, asking us where we had been, where we were going, where we were from, what we did. Since I was driving, I think my questioning was more intense. The officer who was talking to me, kept eye contact. He went on to ask me exactly where I lived, what area, and details. He told me he had lived in the area, and told me what city. I thought that was done to zero in on details, to keep us distracted from what they were doing and to check out any nervousness or other issues that LEO's are trained to detect.

My guess is that blue-eyed blondes are not seen so much as a threat as brown-eyed, darker skinned, black or brown haired people with Spanish accents, and that was the case for each of us, blue eyed and blonde. That does not mean that there aren't any bad people who have those traits because there are.

I have been through other check points, on I-25, north of Las Cruces and a few other places. Those check points are busy with vehicles, whereas the one west of Tucson had no other vehicles go through while we were there. It was a quiet road, but may have had foot traffic come through the area. The other checkpoints are much quicker and less intense.
 
Since I was driving, I think my questioning was more intense. The officer who was talking to me, kept eye contact. He went on to ask me exactly where I lived, what area, and details. He told me he had lived in the area, and told me what city. I thought that was done to zero in on details, to keep us distracted from what they were doing and to check out any nervousness or other issues that LEO's are trained to detect.

They most likely had an BOLO of a car closely matching the description of yours. The out of the way areas get a lot of drug traffic.


I've had my car searched a few times withing the border zones, which are really not at the border, but somehow quite a few miles from the border.

Customs checkpoints are at the border crossings. The Border Patrol checkpoints have to be within 100 miles of the border per the SCOTUS.
 
They most likely had an BOLO of a car closely matching the description of yours. The out of the way areas get a lot of drug traffic.
Customs checkpoints are at the border crossings. The Border Patrol checkpoints have to be within 100 miles of the border per the SCOTUS.
While we were at the observatory, there was a young man who spoke to the two men I was with. He only spoke Spanish and said he was from Honduras. He had a friend he wanted to call and let her know he was okay, as was told to me. I have no idea what the real deal was in his story.

I do believe there was probably a route there somewhere where people walked across into Arizona either bringing in drugs or people. No doubt in my mind that we were in a spot where there was hyper vigilance.
 
I think that carrying a lot of cash in your pocket is crazy.
But Thank you for the thread, Cas.
I learned a lot.
 
...Most of the time LEO right that the money is bad money.

Most of the time? How do you know that? I would guess maybe 30% of the time...maybe far less. But, both of us are just guessing. We can’t know, and here is why:

Anyone with $10,000 or less confiscated won’t try to get their money back, because it will cost them more than that to get the money back. So, right off the bat, half the people won’t even try. You can’t assume they are guilty because they won’t put good money after bad. A lot of innocent people will just take it in the you-know-what.

Of the ones that do challenge the seizure, law enforcement has a 59% win rate, which is shockingly poor given that the burden was shifted away from law enforcement to prove guilt, and to the citizen to prove innocence. It is easier for law enforcement to win these cases, but they lose a huge chunk of them...and every one of those losses was a civil rights violation, that much we do know. Almost half of the seizures are rights violations...and people are ok with this??? And, since law enforcement doesn’t have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they are right (indeed, they don't have to prove anything), we can’t know anything about the guilt or innocence of the people involved in the cases that law enforcement wins.

Regardless of the assumptions you make, or the assumptions I make, I would hope that we could agree that law enforcement should have to prove their case against a citizen beyond a reasonable doubt, and that their should be no seizures without due process in violation of the Constitution.
 
I think that carrying a lot of cash in your pocket is crazy.
But Thank you for the thread, Cas.
I learned a lot.
I wonder what you think is a lot of cash? I try to keep some cash in my purse, but in a separate place from my day to day money which is usually less than $50. I keep it in case I need it, or if the power goes down or a few other reasons when cash will work when debit and credit won't. This thread has been on my mind. I guess we should only keep as much money as we are willing to have confiscated.
 
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Maybe it's b/c I don't live anywhere near the border, but this topic is not a fear of mine at all. I typically carry at least a few hunderd with me all the times and it has saved my butt more times than I can count. I have never had a negative experience. Luck? Maybe, but I also don't know anyone who has had a problem either.....so in my neck of the woods (at least), it does not seem to be an issue.

DH usually carries more b/c he is on the road a lot and likes to take advantage of good deals he comes across with folks selling stuff in their yards or yard sales. He can almost always get a better deal if he has cash on hand.
 
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