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seems i've earned the privilege of knocking out a whacky comment or two here. so here goes...
Another Asset Forfeiture Outrage
Radley Balko | December 21, 2007, 3:07pm
Luther Ricks and his wife worked most of their lives at a steel foundry in Ohio. Not trusting of banks, they say they've lived frugally, and managed to save more than $400,000 over the years, which they kept in a safe in their home.
Last summer, two burglars broke into Ricks' home. He shot and killed one of them. Police determined he acted in self-defense, and cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing.
But local police did find a small amount of marijuana in Ricks' home, which Ricks says he uses to manage the pain of his arthritis and a hip replacement surgery. Ricks was never charged for the marijuana. But finding it in his home was enough for city police to confiscate Ricks and his wife's life savings under drug war asset forfeiture laws. Oddly enough, the FBI then stepped in, and claimed the money for itself.
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this story is clearly bullshit. no way an old black guy with arthritis and a hip replacement who worked at a steel foundry for 40 years can save up $400k. no! that's $20k/yr plus interest... infinitely times the current 0% savings rate of the average american. he's supposed to be suckered into a shit mortgage and in debt and bankrupt. what's wrong with this guy? either he's really got the $400k and he's not spending and borrowing like an idiot the way the statistics say he should or he stole it. either way, the gummit should have it. that's only fair.
he should have invested his $$$ with goldman sacks. he'd have $200k after losses in cdos while the guy who runs the joint makes off with a $68MM bonus.
still working on a signature.
metalman
Another Asset Forfeiture Outrage
Radley Balko | December 21, 2007, 3:07pm
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Last summer, two burglars broke into Ricks' home. He shot and killed one of them. Police determined he acted in self-defense, and cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing.
But local police did find a small amount of marijuana in Ricks' home, which Ricks says he uses to manage the pain of his arthritis and a hip replacement surgery. Ricks was never charged for the marijuana. But finding it in his home was enough for city police to confiscate Ricks and his wife's life savings under drug war asset forfeiture laws. Oddly enough, the FBI then stepped in, and claimed the money for itself.
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this story is clearly bullshit. no way an old black guy with arthritis and a hip replacement who worked at a steel foundry for 40 years can save up $400k. no! that's $20k/yr plus interest... infinitely times the current 0% savings rate of the average american. he's supposed to be suckered into a shit mortgage and in debt and bankrupt. what's wrong with this guy? either he's really got the $400k and he's not spending and borrowing like an idiot the way the statistics say he should or he stole it. either way, the gummit should have it. that's only fair.
he should have invested his $$$ with goldman sacks. he'd have $200k after losses in cdos while the guy who runs the joint makes off with a $68MM bonus.
still working on a signature.
metalman
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