[ARIZONA REPUBLIC February 20, 1994] HOW THE COPS CAN SEIZE YOUR PROPERTY ------------------------------------ by William P. Cheshire Senior Editorial Columnist ARIZONA REPUBLIC If you pick up any Wednesday's USA TODAY and turn to the D section, you'll find a full page of cash, cars and real estate that the Drug Enforcement Administration has seized under its property-confiscation authority. But all this stuff belonged to drug dealers, and they had it coming, right? Wrong. Those listed, the government is careful to point out, "are not necessarily criminal defendants or suspects, nor does the appearance of their names in this notice necessarily mean that they are the target of DEA investigations or other activities." According to Jarret B. Willstein, associate editor of the FINANCIAL PRIVACY REPORT, police seize the property of an estimated 5,000 innocent persons every week. (Willstein's article is reprinted in the libertarian publication UNCOMMON SENSE, Box 3625, Kingman, AZ 86402.) "Agencies now confiscating property from innocent Americans," says Willstein, include the FBI, the Coast Guard, the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Postal Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as "thousands of state and local police departments." Volusia County, Fla., police routinely ask people stopped for traffic violations how much money they're carrying, Willstein says. If the motorists have more than a few hundred dollars on them, the money is seized on grounds of "suspicious behavior." Police also seize jewelry and expensive cars. "In the last four years," says Willstein, "these legalized highway robberies have brought in $8 million." POLICE EYE TRAVELERS -!------------------ Even paying for airline tickets can be dangerous. The DEA and local police operate surveillance units at all major airports. According to Willstein, "virtually everyone you deal with at an airport -- from the ticket clerks to the baggage handlers -- is paid a 10 percent bounty for turning you in to the DEA if you buy a ticket with cash or if you look 'suspicious'." The CBS program 60 MINUTES sent a well-dressed reporter to airports in several major cities, where he purchased tickets with cash. In every instance DEA agents were waiting to seize his money. The feds also keep a watchful eye on patrons of major hotels around the country, have installed surveillance cameras at agricultural supply houses and require salesmen to keep a record of people who buy grow-lights, hoping to spot pot farms, Willstein reports. Local police are no slouches, either. Texas officers arrested a 49-year-old woman at Houston's Hobby Airport five years ago when a drug dog scratched at her luggage, Willstein says. A search revealed no drugs, but did turn up $39,100 -- money from an insurance settlement and the woman's 20-year savings. NO CHARGES BROUGHT -!---------------- The woman was charged with no crime and was able to document the origin of the money. The cops kept it anyway. Though not mentioned by Willstein, the case of Donald P. Scott shows law enforcement at its worst. Using an improperly obtained search warrant, 30 local and federal law enforcement officers broke down the door of Scott's California home in October 1992. When Scott, armed with a pistol, went to check on the commotion, the cops killed him "in self-defense." They said they suspected Scott of growing marijuana, but no marijuana was found. After an exhaustive investigation, Ventura County District Attorney Michael D. Bradbury concluded that the raid "was motivated, at least in part, by a desire to seize and forfeit the ranch for the government." The D.A.'s report added this chilling tidbit: "In order to seize and forfeit property under either California or federal law, there is no requirement that an individual be arrested or charged criminally." Got that? You may have thought the Constitution protected you against "unreasonable searches and seizures" and kept the government from taking your property "without due process of law." These are mere words on paper -- words increasingly disregarded by what some people, including yours truly on especially gloomy days, suspect is the vanguard of a police state.