U.S. Government Wants Meth Dealer's Comic Collection

[Uber Waddles]

While I dont sympathize for drug dealers, cmon...

They cant possibly have proof they were purchased with Drug money. Whats listed here could be written off as hearsay. Unless that had something with a little more substance, like they caught him giving money that police gave him for meth to a comic book dealer, they cant prove it.

And honestly, wouldnt suprise me if they wanted them to auction them off to help round out the budget. God forbid a senator donates some of their grossly over-payed paychecks...

If he has 500k in comics one can assume he probably paid around 500k, presumable this guy only sold drugs, he had no other job. Pretty sure a meth dealer didn't inherit half a million, his only source was the drug money so everything he had could probably be considered drug-money bought

Well with that logic they could just confiscate his home and everything in it. God forbid he had a friend, relative, etc. that got him into comics.

Another poster posted a video on Police doing this: its not a rare occurance. Ive been a victim of it before. So Im inclined to believe that, unless they have 100% proof, either audio or transactions, they can't assume anything, and shouldnt be able to.

He should do hard time for being a scum bag and dealing Meth. But his comic books are, in my eyes, irrelevant.

 

[fulano]

500,000 $ is a serous amount of dough. Had he just quit dealing meth and sold the comics collection he would be loaded right now and winning like Charlie Sheen.

 

[Mr Binary]

I understand why the government would conviscate them being bought with drug money and all. I just don't see the real purpose other than to auction them off to make some money. I mean, I have a whole room stacked high with manga and if I were arrested would they take those as well under a wild claim? Money is money, no matter how you got it.

 

[JDKJ]

While I dont sympathize for drug dealers, cmon...

They cant possibly have proof they were purchased with Drug money. Whats listed here could be written off as hearsay. Unless that had something with a little more substance, like they caught him giving money that police gave him for meth to a comic book dealer, they cant prove it.

And honestly, wouldnt suprise me if they wanted them to auction them off to help round out the budget. God forbid a senator donates some of their grossly over-payed paychecks...

If he has 500k in comics one can assume he probably paid around 500k, presumable this guy only sold drugs, he had no other job. Pretty sure a meth dealer didn't inherit half a million, his only source was the drug money so everything he had could probably be considered drug-money bought

Well with that logic they could just confiscate his home and everything in it. God forbid he had a friend, relative, etc. that got him into comics.

Another poster posted a video on Police doing this: its not a rare occurance. Ive been a victim of it before. So Im inclined to believe that, unless they have 100% proof, either audio or transactions, they can't assume anything, and shouldnt be able to.

He should do hard time for being a scum bag and dealing Meth. But his comic books are, in my eyes, irrelevant.

If his home and everything in it was in fact obtained with the proceeds of illegal activities and the government can meet their burden of proof in order to forfeit those assets, why the Hell should he get to keep those assets even if he does 50 years in a federal prison? Should Bernie Madoff just do his prison time and still get to keep the billions of dollars he stole from his victims? Call me crazy if you want, but wouldn't that in effect be rewarding Mr. Madoff for his crimes?

 

[Carlston]

Any investment, or property used with money purchased from the sales of drugs is free game. Even if it's a chicken farm. It's linked to drug money, it can go up in value....

The point of this is? Any different then homes, cars, I'd probably have a video game collection myself.

Just cause it's not what normal people would see as a investment, what's superman #1 selling for 200k? Yep take it all away.

 

[Canid117]

What's going to happen to those comics? Will Uncle Sam auction them off?

(...just sayin'. )

That is what usually happens. Go to a police auction and every now and then you can pick up a drug lords Ferrari for ten grand.

 

[JDKJ]

Any investment, or property used with money purchased from the sales of drugs is free game. Even if it's a chicken farm. It's linked to drug money, it can go up in value....

The point of this is? Any different then homes, cars, I'd probably have a video game collection myself.

Just cause it's not what normal people would see as a investment, what's superman #1 selling for 200k? Yep take it all away.

A Superman No. 1 (which actually doesn't mention Superman in the title but, rather, is titled "Action Comics No. 1") when last one came up for auction, sold for half-a-million dollars.

 

[JDKJ]

What's going to happen to those comics? Will Uncle Sam auction them off?

(...just sayin'. )

That is what usually happens. Go to a police auction and every now and then you can pick up a drug lords Ferrari for ten grand.

The sale of forfeited high-end automobiles at government auctions is often conditioned on the requirement that the successful bidder will immediately export the automobile out of the United States and to a foreign country. That's how they stop Mr. Drug Dealer from sending his brother-in-law to the auction as a shill-bidder to buy back his forfeited automobile.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

There are some things harder to give up than Meth.

Batman is one.

 

[vxicepickxv]

Holy crap his bookshelf must cover 2 walls...

Mine does

So many books in my house...

Not all of them are comics though, 80% of mine are actual books, 28% are manga, 2% are comics.

That's a neat little trick.

Can I get 110% of book totals too?

OT:Well, at least they waited until after they arrested him to seize all of his assets.

 

[JDKJ]

Well it is completely legal to sieze property, collectable or otherwise, if its accquired through illegal funding.

I see no problem with this. Its not as if those comics are going to be destroyed.

I do. Look up "asset forfeiture" on the Google for all the ways this gets abused.

Giving police an financial incentive to bust people was realized as a bad idea by Victorian times, why did our government think bringing it back would do any good?

You gotta point. The asset forfeiture laws are kinda ass-backward. Unlike the usual case where the burden of proof is on the government, forfeiture law usually puts the burden on the asset owner to prove that the asset isn't the result of illegal activity. If they can't meet that burden, they can kiss their asset good-bye. And, yes, because the law enforcement agency involved with the forfeiture usually benefits directly from the forfeiture (e.g., forfeited automobiles often end up being given to the agency for their own use), they do have an interest in forfeiting assets they think are illegally obtained. And once they do, it can be Hell and High Water trying to get your asset back from them even if it isn't in fact the result of any illegal activity.

 

[loremazd]

Well it is completely legal to sieze property, collectable or otherwise, if its accquired through illegal funding.

I see no problem with this. Its not as if those comics are going to be destroyed.

I do. Look up "asset forfeiture" on the Google for all the ways this gets abused.

Giving police an financial incentive to bust people was realized as a bad idea by Victorian times, why did our government think bringing it back would do any good?

While it's true that the police getting the proceeds may be flawed and worth a look at, this seems fairly clear cut. The guy was a meth dealer, and one lucrative enough to have cronies. The stuff he bought with that should be sold and the funds should be given to the community he helped destroy.

 

[JDKJ]

Well it is completely legal to sieze property, collectable or otherwise, if its accquired through illegal funding.

I see no problem with this. Its not as if those comics are going to be destroyed.

I do. Look up "asset forfeiture" on the Google for all the ways this gets abused.

Giving police an financial incentive to bust people was realized as a bad idea by Victorian times, why did our government think bringing it back would do any good?

While it's true that the police getting the proceeds may be flawed and worth a look at, this seems fairly clear cut. The guy was a meth dealer, and one lucrative enough to have cronies. The stuff he bought with that should be sold and the funds should be given to the community he helped destroy.

Actually, just so the record's clear, he's an accused meth dealer and does get to enjoy that status unless and until he's actually convicted of dealing meth. The problem with most asset forfeiture laws as currently written is that the government can forfeit the asset, the asset owner can subsequently be acquitted of the alleged illegal activity, and yet still have to prove that the forfeited asset was not the result of any illegal activity in order to regain possession of their asset. That happens all the time.

 

[chinangel]

i'm sorry but this is a lot of bs.

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

Holy crap his bookshelf must cover 2 walls...

Mine does

So many books in my house...

Not all of them are comics though, 80% of mine are actual books, 28% are manga, 2% are comics.

That's a neat little trick.

Can I get 110% of book totals too?

OT:Well, at least they waited until after they arrested him to seize all of his assets.

Sorry, it should be 18% manga

 

[godfist88]

maybe Obama a closet comic book nerd and wanted them all to himself.