Anybody lose half a million dollars?

[USAFANG67]

Lose one-half million dollars?
State Police are holding it for you
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
By Bruce Hamilton

Missing nearly $500,000 that was shrink-wrapped and hidden in a Texas-bound 18-wheeler?

You have until the end of the month to claim it from Louisiana State Police.

The St. Tammany Parish district attorney's office and State Police recently published public notice of the pending forfeiture of $498,665 seized during an Oct. 14 traffic stop on Interstate 12 in the Slidell area. Police believe the cash is drug money, according to the notice.

The money was discovered after Trooper Bryan Madden pulled over the tractor-trailer for careless driving about 9:50 a.m. The driver and passenger, whom police did not identify, were "nervous and evasive," according to the notice.

The driver told police he had come from Hattiesburg, Miss., and was headed to Pharr, Texas, according to Sgt. James Cook, chief of the State Police's asset forfeiture unit. Madden checked the driver's log book and found discrepancies with the driver's account.

The log is a mandated record in which commercial truckers keep track of their itineraries; federal law limits the number of hours they can drive in a day. Cook said it had not been updated. Because of the discrepancies and odd behavior, Madden asked to search the vehicle.

The money was discovered in a hidden compartment inside the truck cab, and the driver disavowed any knowledge of it, according to Cook. "He had just picked it up, and he said he didn't know anything about its origin," he said.

After police took the vehicle to the Troop L barracks in Mandeville, a drug-detection police dog, "Dusty," sniffed the money and indicated the presence of narcotics. No drugs were found in the vehicle, Cook said, but it looked like drug proceeds: large bills, wrapped in rubber bands and vacuum-sealed.

The driver was cited with careless driving, but he and the passenger were not arrested, police said. They were released with the vehicle while officers continued to investigate. Cook said the package was sent to the crime lab for testing and officers were trying to learn more about the money's origin.

To claim the money, file a claim with the district attorney's office. But, as the public notice warns, "You need to consult with a lawyer."

The money will be forfeited to the state 30 days after publication of the public notice, which appeared Nov. 30. District attorney's spokesman Rick Wood said 1 percent of the proceeds goes to the Louisiana District Attorneys Association.

After that, 60 percent of the remaining amount will go to State Police, 20 percent will go to the district attorney's office and 20 percent will go to the criminal court fund.

. . . . . . .

Bruce Hamilton can be reached at bhamilton@timespicayune.com or (985)898-4827.

[CBDFrontier06]

Seems strange that money like this couldn't go to more worthy causes, like schools. Why does the district attorney's office need it? To make their Lexus payments?

It's also strange that the police can just sieze money from your vehicle because they suspect you have it for illegal reasons. What if I liked carrying a lot of cash? Can I expect to have it confiscated when I get pulled over for speeding? The law is overstepping its bounds a bit here. I paid cash for a car I once bought, which made it necessary for me to make a 140 mile trip with $12,000 in the glove compartment of my car. Why do they have the right to even question it?? I guess I should consider myself lucky I wasn't pulled over that day.

[USAFANG67]

Originally Posted by CBDFrontier06

Seems strange that money like this couldn't go to more worthy causes, like schools. Why does the district attorney's office need it? To make their Lexus payments?

It's also strange that the police can just sieze money from your vehicle because they suspect you have it for illegal reasons. What if I liked carrying a lot of cash? Can I expect to have it confiscated when I get pulled over for speeding? The law is overstepping its bounds a bit here. I paid cash for a car I once bought, which made it necessary for me to make a 140 mile trip with $12,000 in the glove compartment of my car. Why do they have the right to even question it?? I guess I should consider myself lucky I wasn't pulled over that day.

I more or less ran into the same problem with opening up an bank account with $1500. Took 5 days to clear!!

[Zero Six LE]

Originally Posted by CBDFrontier06

Seems strange that money like this couldn't go to more worthy causes, like schools. Why does the district attorney's office need it? To make their Lexus payments?

It's also strange that the police can just sieze money from your vehicle because they suspect you have it for illegal reasons. What if I liked carrying a lot of cash? Can I expect to have it confiscated when I get pulled over for speeding? The law is overstepping its bounds a bit here. I paid cash for a car I once bought, which made it necessary for me to make a 140 mile trip with $12,000 in the glove compartment of my car. Why do they have the right to even question it?? I guess I should consider myself lucky I wasn't pulled over that day.

I'll bet they reported you to the authorities since you paid over $10,000 in cash. It is crazy that a law abiding citizen is treated like a drug dealer.

[USAFANG67]

Originally Posted by ChuckFrontier06

I'll bet they reported you to the authorities since you paid over $10,000 in cash. It is crazy that a law abiding citizen is treated like a drug dealer.

We are all guilty until proven innocent......

Or is it we are all guilty by association(having money)....

[Panman06]

Umm...that's mine. It wasn't hidden in the 18 wheeler. The money fell out of my pocket and must have rolled into the compartment when I asked for a ride. Not drug money either. I saved up my aluminum cans...

[Kalikikopa]

Well, $12000 is not half a million. And the article did state the driver's behavior did make him suspect. I'm sure officers around the United states are pretty good at reading behavior. On a side note, I don't run drugs or anything so can I claim the money? I mean they won't find any evidence against me. Can anyone come up with a good excuse to explain what my $500,000 ended up in a truck 5,000 miles away?......anybody???? I'll share.

[CBDFrontier06]

There's much more to this story..there has to be. Why were the police doing a 'hidden compartment' search on the truck anyway?

Reminds me of a friend of mine who travels for Matrix (hair & skin care products). He traveled to different cities in WY an CO and was pulled over in Cheyenne one day as they suspected him of being a drug trafficker. He was an out-of-towner that the cops had noticed coming in and out of town fairly regularly, and immediately assumed he was bringing in drugs. (I guess it didnt help that he drives a Mercedes 450SL). They pulled him over in the middle of a main street one night, dug through all his luggage and everywhere on his car, and much to their dismay found a carload of shampoo, conditioner, skin care products and a bottle of Advil. I'd have been livid.

[emcee_peepants]

*SNIFF-SNIFF*
It's uh mine. Yeah. I mean my friends. I was holding it for a friend. *SNIFF-SNIFF*

My lips are numb. Are your lips numb? I have to poop. Whos that? Is someone there? Quit following me!
*SNIFF-SNIFF*

[Onikage954RR]

The driver's behavior made him suspicious? Man that's a crock.

The cops can screw with you any way they see fit and make it look ok on the reports. I went on a ride-a-long to see if I wanted be a cop. The office got a call from an informant that her live-in boyfriend just got some crack he was going to distribute. He knew the dealer, and had busted him before. We went to the apartment, he wasn't there, but on the way out he saw the dealer's vehicle at an intersection. He intercepted the vehicle, arrested the driver and passenger (they had 3 crack rocks on them) and ran them in. On his report, he wrote that he pulled over the vehicle for failure to use it's blinker at the intersection and searched the suspects because they were acting suspiciously. Never mentioned being tipped off or hunting down that specific dealer.

In this situation the cop got the dealer. But he lied about how he did it. Now if he can and will lie about doing his job legally (and with a positive result) what's to stop him from doing it illegally? What's to stop him from searching your vehicle just because he feels like it? If you have nothing illegal you should be ok sure, but it's still abuse of power/position. US citizens have the right not to be treated as criminals until they are proven to be criminals.