By cathy murphy

Herald/review

NACO, Ariz. - U.S. Customs Service agents were acting on information that Naco businessman Ernie Rogers is involved in drug trafficking when they served two search warrants on his business and home Thursday.

Friday, the agency's public information officer, Vince Iglio, confirmed that agents seized $193,000 in cash, a gun collection, all the business records and numerous photographs at Rogers' Border Service.

Iglio said no drugs were found in the business or the Rogers home. Rogers, a prominent businessman and civic leader in this border community, denies any ties to drug trafficking.

Rogers said he kept his life savings in a safe at his business. Rogers said he bought his first tow truck in 1975 and has sold 286 vehicles since then. He said he had all of the paperwork in his office. He said the money he made from the sale of the vehicles went into the savings account or was used to build his new house.

Asked why kept so much money in his safe, Rogers said he doesn't trust anybody, including bankers.

Rogers said the federal seizure meant he couldn't pay his employees or make his payments into the bank account he keeps to show that he is paying his payroll taxes.

Thursday, following the federal agency's raids, Rogers had complained that his employees and a customer were handcuffed and detained by the agents.

Friday, Iglio said it is standard procedure to handcuff people who are uncooperative at a crime scene and to have them lie face down on the ground. He said it is for the safety of the agents and any individuals at the scene of suspected criminal activity.

Rogers claims his employees were scared and offered no resistance.

Rogers was not arrested following the search. His son David, 34, a former U.S. Border Patrol officer, was taken into custody for allegedly damaging federal property by allowing a flagpole he was removing from the exterior wall of the business to hit a Customs Service vehicle and denting it.

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So now it is illegal to keep CASH?

What a bunch of B.S.!!

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I hate to admit it, but during the Reagan years, I was for the seizure laws, against real drug dealers. But now I realize that I was wrong. .

Quoted:
You guys miss the point, they haven't arrested the man, they have arrested the money.

.

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AND if they find ANY trace of drugs on it, its their's.

I seem to remember a report that indicated some outrageous % of money (like 50%) had traces of cocaine / narcotics on it.

Bub-bye cash.

I dare say it AIn't a coincidence this guy, with a safe full of cash, was their target.

Can you say 10,000% tax increase for this poor guy????

The solution? 1776.

Quoted:
The agents names have to be on the reports, it is up to this guy to effect some personal change.  If this happens often enough, they may try other forms of revenue generating schemes.

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Good thing about this, is that this guy is still alive.  The real battle will be fought in court. If I were him, I will get a damn good lawyer, sue, and who knows...Without a probable cause or reason, the Feds will loose.

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You guys miss the point, they haven't arrested the man, they have arrested the money.

You telling me you don't know this much about RICO?

You are not even involved in a RICO seizure, they take what they want, and it is up to your cash, your car, your home  etc to prove itself innocent of any wrongdoing.  You have no standing in the matter.

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So now it is illegal to keep CASH?

What a bunch of B.S.!!

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I believe it is a fedgoon felony to have more than $10K in cash in your possession.

Airports have sensors that detect the magnetic stripes in cash in your pocket as you walk down the hall and can tell how much you are carrying.  Don't know if there is a portable sensor tho'.

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No, it's illegal to deposit more than 10k without the bank reporting it to the feds.

And the security thread is mylar or something, certainly not magnetic.  I'd love to see a credible source to support the idea that there are sensors available to read how much cash we carry.

Is someone willing to follow this case and let us know if this guy is in fact not guilty as everybody seems to assume?  

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I think I have it correct.

Know for a fact you cannot depart or enter the US with more than $10K in your possession.

First time I became aware of this was about ten years ago when a friend went to Las Vegas.  The new airport had just opened.  As he was walking down the hall he was stopped by the ubiquitous Men In Black Suits and ushered into a side room.  He was ordered to present all the cash he was carrying.  He had $7700 if memory serves.  He asked how the suits knew and they informed him of the statute and inferred they could count the money in his pocket.  BTW this guy is not flashy nor does he visit LV with any regularity.  I found it amusing at the time they stopped him on his way TO LV.

Money and Other Monetary Instruments
You may bring into or take out of the country, including by mail, as much money as you wish. But if it's more than $10,000, you'll need to report it to Customs. Ask the Customs officer for the Currency Reporting Form (CF 4790) (PDF). The penalties for not complying can be quite severe. "

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Is everyone here missing something?

Everything was seized pursuant to a search warrant. This was something explicitly allowed in the Constitution.

Search warrants on the federal side are usually much harder to get than your average local search warrant. And in order for the feds to keep the money, or any other property they seize, they will have to prove in court that there is an affirmative link between the money and the alleged criminal enterprise.

Should a criminal be allowed to keep the profits from their criminal enterprise? Hell no. As far as the cash having traces of drugs on it goes, I have heard of that, and so has your prosecutors and judges. They will not be able to keep the money just because it has traces of drugs. They will have to show an affirmative link between the money and some type of felony activity, in court.

As far as the prime suspect not being arrested, that is actually fairly common during the service of search warrants; often, the search warrant is based on PC for lesser offenses and the evidence gained from the search is used to gain the information needed for an indictment.

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First, you said it's a felony to possess more than $10K.  Not true, and you'll have to prove that assertion.  Again, I think you're confusing possession with the need to report larger than $10k deposits.

Second, you can take our or bring in as much money as you want, you just have to declare it if it's more than $10k.




U.S. Customs website   [url]http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/travel/travel.htm[/url]

Third, those security strips are not magnetic, nor readable, AFAIK.  Can you prove otherwise?

Maybe they stopped him going into Vegas because they figured there would be nothing left afterwards?  [;D]

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Is everyone here missing something?

Everything was seized pursuant to a search warrant. This was something explicitly allowed in the Constitution.

Search warrants on the federal side are usually much harder to get than your average local search warrant. And in order for the feds to keep the money, or any other property they seize, they will have to prove in court that there is an affirmative link between the money and the alleged criminal enterprise.

Should a criminal be allowed to keep the profits from their criminal enterprise? Hell no. As far as the cash having traces of drugs on it goes, I have heard of that, and so has your prosecutors and judges. They will not be able to keep the money just because it has traces of drugs. They will have to show an affirmative link between the money and some type of felony activity, in court.

As far as the prime suspect not being arrested, that is actually fairly common during the service of search warrants; often, the search warrant is based on PC for lesser offenses and the evidence gained from the search is used to gain the information needed for an indictment.

And as far as Junior getting popped goes, it sounds like he was being an idiot. Stupidity generally isn't a jailable offense, but stupidity that dents the door on a government vehicle is. If he just would have kept his mouth shut and stayed out of the agent's way, he would have been fine. As a "former" Border Patrol Agent, he should have known better. Makes you wonder about why he was "former."

Maybe some of you folks need to put a fresh layer of aluminum foil on those hats. Don't you know that the radiation from the mind control rays can break down its protective properties over time?

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And the security thread is mylar or something, certainly not magnetic.

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Sorry, but this time, you're full of sh**.  I would have just said 'incorrect' but you made that aluminum foil remark, showing how out of touch with reality you really are, here.  

Why don't you get off the street until you know what you're talking about?

Maybe you could benefit from some re-education of the topic.

Federal Seizure law puts the burden of proof on the victim to show that the seized property was NOT used in the alleged illegal activity in question.

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It is Mylar.  It is also magnetic.  In the 1970's I spent considerable time working with a company that made magnetically programmable Mylar strips.  The company was Graham Magnetics and they made a computer memory product called [b]"magnetic tape"[/b].  Or you might remember those things you used to put in your tape player.  That is magnetized Mylar strips.

I'm working to find out what the term "Dual threshold magnetic detection" means.  It's used on currency sorters and counters made by companies like Magner.

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Okay PRK, your little "comment" was uncalled for. Why don't you keep it clean.

Did you read the article?

The stuff was seized pursuant to a warrant.

Also, remember that
Seizure laws have changed in the last several years. There has to be an affirmative link between the property seized and a criminal offense. Burden of proof is on the Prosecution," who has to prove (albeit at a lower standard, preponderance of evidence) that the property in question was the proceeds from illicit activity.

As far as "re-education" goes, how much training on search and seizure do you have? How many search warrants have you written? How much property have you ever seized from someone? What the heck do you really KNOW about this subject matter? If all you "know" is what you read on the Internet, then your education in this subject matter is sorely lacking.

I have professional training on this (as recently as last month), I have written and served search warrants, and I have seized property, both pursuant to a warrant and without, using warrantless seizure exceptions defined by case law and agency policy.

..., but this situation isn't even close. This situation regards the seizure of property pursuant to a warrant, and is jsut plain different. If you don't get that, then maybe you do need a couple more layers of foil.

BTW, the link you posted was completely full of crap.