THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00845R000100420011-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 16
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 11, 2010
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: June 1, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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4911111111, Ili
? WHITE HOUSE JITTERS!
THE THREAT TO THE PRESIDENT BY THE TERRORIST GROUP ISLAMIC JIHAD IS VERY REAL AND THE
SECRET SERVICE IS QUITE CONCERNED. THE ORGANIZATION (IJO) HAS STATED THAT THOUGH
? THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO PREVENT PRESIDENT REAGAN FROM BEING RE-ELECTED THAT THEY
WILL DO ALL IN THEIR POWER TO SEE THAT HE DOES NOT SURVIVE THE SECOND TERM. THE AT-
TEMPT TO BLOW UP THE U.S. EMBASSY IN ROME WAS STOPPED BY TOP POLICE WORK OF ITALIAN
? AGENTS BY THIS SAME GROUP. THUS, WHEN A CRACK IN SECURITY AT THE WHITE HOUSE WAS
DISCOVERED THE USSS WAS VERY UPSET. THE SECURITY WAS BREACHED WHEN THE BAND PLAY-
ING FOR THE PRESIDENT ARRIVED AND A CITIZEN FROM DENVER, COLORADO JUST WALKED IN
WITH THE GROUP AND HAD ACCESS FOR AT LEAST TEN MINUTES TO THE WHITE HOUSE. HE WAS
ARRESTED BY SECRET SERVICE AGENTS WHEN FINALLY NOTICED. THE MOST HEROIC EFFORTS BY
SECRET SERVICE AND OTHER FEDERAL AGENTS CAN NOT PREVENT THESE PROBLEMS FROM HAP-
PENING. THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES HAS TO BE VISIBLE AND AGAINST THE ADVICE OF
HIS BODYGUARDS WILL EXPOSE HIMSELF TO CROWDS. WHILE PRESIDENT REAGAN IS MUCH
MORE COOPERATIVE THAN OTHER PRESIDENTS HE REMAINS A HIGH PRIORITY TARGET FOR TER-
RORISTS.
0
COCAINE CARTEL IN LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE
UNLESS REQUIRED, MOST AMERICAN DIPLOMATS AND FAMILIES HAVE LEFT THE COLUMBIA AREA
? DURING THE WAR THAT HAS BEEN DECLARED AGAINST THE DRUG AGENCIES. MOST AMERICANS
WORKING IN FIRMS MUST HAVE BODYGUARDS AND THAT MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO PREVENT
SLAYINGS. IN MEXICO, THE KIDNAPPING OF A DEA AGENT IN BROAD DAY LIGHT SHOWS THE
? CONTEMPT FOR POLICE AUTHORITIES. IT UNDERMINES CONFIDENCE IN POLICE AS WELL. UNDER-
COVER SOURCES AND INFORMANTS MAY FEAR TO GIVE DATA TO DEA, FBI OR OTHER AGENCIES
WHEN THEY SEE THE BUILDINGS AT DEA HEADQUARTERS BEING PROTECTED FROM BOMB
THREATS AND AGENTS SHOT OR SLAIN.
IN MIAMI, OCB DIRECTOR NEHBASS WHO HEADS UP THE COUNTRY-WIDE DRUG ENFORCEMENT
PROGRAM INDICATED THAT DESPITE INCREASED SEIZURES OF COCAINE ... THAT THERE IS MORE
ON THE STREETS THAN EVER BEFORE. BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE INVOLVED AND DRUG RELATED
? DEATHS ARE INCREASING. THE BOMB SQUAD IS ALSO GETTING MORE CALLS TO FACTORIES
WHERE "COKE" IS BEING MADE WITH HIGHLY INFLAMABLE MATERIALS THAT COULD BLOW UP A
CITY BLOCK.
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? INTERPOL ARM IS LONGER 0
INTERPOL WHICH IS THE DRAMATIC TITLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL POLICE ORGANIZA-
? TION HAS 136 NATION MEMBERS. SECRET SERVICE CHIEF JOHN SIMPSON IS ITS ELECTED HEAD AT
THIS TIME. NOW, UNDER RULES THAT WERE CHANGED AT A RECENT MEETING INTERPOL WILL S
CIRCULATE WARRANTS AMONG MEMBER NATIONS IN CASES OF MURDER, KIDNAPPING, BOMB-
ING, ROBBERY AND SIMILAR SERIOUS OFFENSES. A NATION GETTING A "RED NOTICE" IS OBLI-
GATED TO ARREST AND DETAIN A SUSPECT PENDING A FORMAL EXTRADITION HEARING. THIS ?
HAS MADE INTERPOL MORE EFFECTIVE AND WARRANTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED ALREADY FOR JO-
ANNE CHEISMARD WANTED AFTER HER ESCAPE FOR KILLING A STATE TROOPER: MUTULU SHA-
KUR AND THOMAS WILLIAM MANNING, ALL DANGEROUS KILLERS AND BANK ROBBERS. ?
NEW DIPLOMATIC LICENSE PLATES
THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE WILL NOW ISSUE ALL DIPLOMATIC TAGS FOR VEHICLES OWNED
BY FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS AND THEIR AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES. THESE WILL REPLACE
THOSE OF ANY OTHER JURISDICTION! FOR MORE INFORMATION WRITE TO: FEDERAL DIPLO-
MATIC MOTOR VEHICLE PROGRAM, STATE DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C.
101,361 AUTHORIZED MACHINE GUNS IN UNITED STATES
P
SSE
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0
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O
? NATION-WIDE AS OF LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME, 101,361 MACHINE GUNS WERE IN LEGAL
SION OF CITIZENS IN THE UNITED STATES SAYS AT&F. IT IS PERFECTLY LEGAL FOR ANYONE TO
OWN A MACHINE GUN AS LONG AS THEY HAVE PURCHASED THE SPECIAL LICENSE. THEY ARE
? ONLY ILLEGAL WITHOUT THE PERMITS. LAST YEAR, 4,500 PERSONS APPLIED AND WERE GRANTED
MACHINE GUN PERMITS. MANY OF COURSE ARE TRUE GUN COLLECTORS. S
Cover Photo: Gary Lee Yarbrough and David Lane, both armed, pictured in 1983. There is growing evidence that links extreme right wing
groups to the murder of police officers, bank hold-ups and other crimes. To finance their quest for power both the right and left have a com-
mon link: Violence.
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INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATORS
ASSOCIATION
It has been agreed that the data released that may fall into our hands or be shared by other in-
vestigators will be screened so as not to effect ongoing investigations and would place in jeop-
ardy the life of any investigators or sources of information. Thus, when such data arrives, the
Executive Director may deem it necessary to share it only with a special agency as a TIP (Tell It
Privately). However, generally our aim is to keep the police community informed on all levels so
they may be aware of dangers past, present or imminent. Membership is limited to professional
law enforcement officers in federal, state, county, municipal and in certain cases in private se-
curity industry where these skills are used to protect industry essential to the United States
and her allies.
OUR PURPOSE
We are an international association of investigators and police officers in
all ranks and departments with an interest in gathering intelligence on
criminals and their activities and sharing it through articles and work-
shops. Our focus is international because both organized crime and terror-
ist groups often have bases and Interests in countries outside the United
States. We are not a government sanctioned group but a voluntary, non-
profit, informal association of individuals concerned about the rise in do-
mestic and international crime and terrorism. Through our unofficial ef-
forts we hope to alert our fellow officers to impending or potential criminal
activity which can adversely affect their communities.
ETHICS AND MEMBERSHIP STANDARDS
APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
DUES: $ 15 per YEAR
(Please use copy machine to duplicate * + C I IMIN IVI~ML
to keep bulletin whole.) I 19i INVESTIGATORS
Application for Membership to:
Mr. Dan Meany Executive Director ?"""""?
Y ooool 2i5ie5
International Criminal Investigators Association MEMBER NAME
P.O. Box 15350 COMPANY NAME
A DIVISION OF THE AMERICAN POLICE ACADEMY
Full Name Age
Mailing Address Apt.
City State _ Zip
Occupation
Employed By Phone No.
Date of Birth Place of Birth
I certify that I am engaged in full-time law enforcement work as a criminal investigator. En-
closed are dues of $15 a year payable to ICIA. I understand that the Executive Director has the
sole responsibility to accept or reject membership for any reason whatsoever and return my
dues and application.
Date Signature
Print or Type:
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By Larry Schwartz and Pearl Sax
Fraud and Theft Information Bureau
FIRST CREDIT CARD FRAUD SQUAD
IN UNITED STATES
BREAKS ORGANIZED CRIME RING
Florida, gateway for Caribbean, Central and Sout
American dope smuggling operations, is now the second
worst hotbed of credit card crime after New York. Increas-
ingly, drug criminals are diversifying into credit cards be-
cause of the ease of fraud, profitability and small chance
of apprehension.
Organized in 1982 by Metro Dade Police Chief Bobby
Jones as a division of the Dade County Economic Crime
Unit, the Credit Card Fraud Squad has achieved remarka-
ble results. Latest is capture of a ring of "Marielitos" (Cu-
ban prisoners sent here by Castro).
The gang bought credit card transaction carbons from
dishonest hotel, retail and car rental employees for $5; cre-
ated "white plastic" and counterfeit Visa and MasterCard
cards; imprinted thousands of gasoline sales slips with the
stolen information; sold the slips for $9 each to gas sta-
tions in Florida, New York, New Jersey, Texas and Louisi-
ana.
The dishonest station operators (40 of them in Dade
County alone) made out the slips for varying amounts un-
der the $50 floor limit and pocketed the proceeds.
ARRESTS
Arrested by Detective Geno Figueroa were ringleaders
Onelio Hernandez, Armando Lorenzo, Enrique Lazaro,
Manolo Valdez and his wife, Mary. All await trial on
charges of grand theft, second degree; racketeering under
Florida's Rico Act; conspiracy to commit organized crime.
To date, the squad has confiscated four Farrington
card embossing machines; thousands of "white plastic"
and counterfeit cards; recovered $2 million in fraudulently
obtained goods; apprehended airport pickpockets who
were stealing and selling credit cards; arrested owners of
"bust-outs," stores set up to secure merchant status and
submit fraudulent transactions (it generally takes 30 days
before banks recognize the crime) - and over 300 mer-
chants who were accepting "white plastic" and counterfeit
credit cards.
For further information contact Sergeant Art Stack,
Credit Card Fraud Squad, Metro Dade Police Depart-
ment, 1320 N.W. 14th Street, Miami, Florida 33125.
Phone number is [phone].
BANKS, MERCHANTS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
COOPERATE IN ECONOMIC CRIME UNIT
TO REDUCE FRAUD LOSSES
At the monthly meeting of the Palm Beach County
Economic Crime Unit, an astounding amount of informa-
tion is exchanged about local forgers, bad check passers,
embezzlers, con men, credit card thieves, bank robbers,
document robbers, counterfeiters, computer thieves and
other white collar criminals.
Members include representatives of the county's hun-
dred-odd banks, large retailers, police and sheriff's offi-
ces, state attorneys, Licensing Bureau executives, credit
card companies, Postal Inspection Service, FBI, Secret
Service and the IRS.
Headed by Detective Liz Cline of the Palm Beach
County Sheriff's Office, a from-the-ground-up veteran of
20 years in law enforcement, the Economic Crime Unit,
supposedly the first in the nation, is now in its eighth year.
EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION SAVES
MONEY AND STOPS THE THIEF
Both the information exchanged at the meetings and
the rapport that has developed among its members have
probably saved millions of dollars by eliminating duplica-
tion of effort among the county's 37 police departments
and by increasing apprehensions leading to convictions res-
titution and recovery of property.
After attending one of these super-helpful meetings
and interviewing Detective Cline at length, we got permis-
sion to share this information with our readers so that sim-
ilar units can be formed in other parts of the country. To
date, economic crime units have been formed in Dade,
Broward and Martin counties, covering all of South Flor-
ida, a leading hotbed of white collar crime. These units ex-
change information, attend each other's meetings and have
? Continued on Page 6
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been helpful in solving crimes in Utah, California, Oregon,
Nevada and New York.
"Our objective is prevention, detection and apprehen-
sion," declared Detective Cline. "We try to prevent the
crimes before they happen and avoid the domino effect of
each crime. Unfortunately, every forgery is directly related
to a more serious crime - crimes like drug dealing, prosti-
tution, purse snatching, shoplifting, burglary of resi-
dences, business and mail, arson, auto theft, even rape and
other violent crimes.
"From where we sit, it looks as though losses to the
economy from white collar crime and drug traffic are
enough to pay off the national debt."
SUBJECTS COVERED AT A TYPICAL MEETING
Here is a sampling of the subjects covered during the
two and a half hour meeting we attended - subjects ac-
companied by much passing around of photographs, cop-
ies of forged checks and false ID.
? An ongoing scheme by 12 people using $250,000 of
stolen Citibank travelers checks, most recently in Dade and
Seminole counties. One of the leaders, the daughter of a
fraud detail sergeant, worked for a Florida bank for one
and a half years. Of the 12, three are in custody, two
turned state and federal evidence, seven warrants issued
ready to be served.
? Members deplored the fact that travelers check com-
panies apparently do not have adequate follow up pro-
grams for lost and stolen checks. Lag time in discovery and
research of stolen traveler's checks gives thieves high suc-
cess levels with little chance of apprehension.
? A receptionist at a local Florida motel was carrying a
folder with four stolen Marriott travelers checks when ar-
rested. Checks stolen from Denver were being cashed at
the motel.
? Bank personnel have been leaving travelers checks in
open drawers. If a bank's copies of the checks are de-
stroyed, it will be two or three months before the loss is de-
tected.
? Credit card fraud is still the weakest link. Only six
apprehensions out of 25 to 50 frauds per month in stolen
and counterfeit cards. Stolen cards in several cases used to
buy cigarettes, liquor, Polaroid film to be sold in the Euro-
pean black market, New York night clubs, expensive furni-
ture.
? Discussion about a service for screening people who
open new checking accounts. Called Cheque Enquiries,
Inc., the service operates in 33 states. They provide infor-
mation in seconds about any previous bad history of the
person opening the account, such as account closed for
NSF activity; writing on a closed account; opened with
false stolen ID or an NSF check; reported as a charged off
loan; credit card account closed for cause; reported lost or
stolen check book or pass book. The company also main-
tains a Fraud Alert is used by many of the unit members.
Fraud Alert is used by many of the unit members.
? Drive-in teller at a bank, suspicious about a person
wishing to cash a check, called the customer whose name
appeared on the check to ask if she had issued the check,
learned that two checks were missing from her book, in-
cluding the one in question. Thief took off, but teller
quickly called 911 and reported license number. Thief ap-
prehended; charges being pressed.
? Counterfeit cashiers checks from a Miami bank
printed on brown paper.
? Vandalism that destroyed $40,000 of ATM ma-
chines. Description of vandal in his 20s. Discussion of mo-
tivation. Different from bombing to secure money in ma-
chine.
? False ID cards, headed "Florida ID," being printed
for $8.50 at a farmers' market one mile from Palm Beach
Sheriff's Office. Each card can bear color photo of sub-
ject, false date of birth, false name, false Social Security
Number, even a fingerprint to make it look authentic. Us-
ed to help cash forged or counterfeit checks. Card looks
authentic since it bears the state's name. Selling these fake
ID cards is not illegal.
? Stolen business checks being used - names of com-
panies and individuals from whom they were stolen.
? Check kiting by a 19-year-old diabetic jewelry opera-
tor from New York who obtained $76,000 fraudulently in
60.days. After apprehension by joint effort of Palm Beach
County Sheriff's Office and West Palm Beach Police, the
youth paid $13,000 up front in order to be put on proba-
tion.
? Missing Zayre check cashing cards. Cleaning crew or
dishonest employee responsible? Three banks hit in Martin
County.
? Postal money orders being altered to much higher
amounts by purchasing small denomination money orders
and pasting numbers on a slightly larger denomination
money order. Thirty thousand dollars of such money or-
ders cashed recently. Holding them up to the light reveals
pasting.
? Postal Inspection Service representative announced
that 24 hour hot line is now available for checking fake
money orders. (305-591-0208) He stated that $1 million in
fraudulent money orders have been sent into prisons since
1974. Sympathetic civilians and homosexuals contacted
through magazines have been cashing such money orders
for inmates.
? Information on a number of individuals writing
checks on overdrawn accounts.
? Forgery ring deposits a forged check drawn on a legi-
timate bank account for $100 and then withdrew $480 in
cash. It was recommended that all such transactions be
standardized, requiring customers to sign the deposit slip.
? Up to date information on home improvement "gyp-
sies" ripping off $52 million a year, mostly from older
people who are often too frightened to report a loss of
$1,000 or $2,000 for roofing, blacktop or other work that
was inadequately performed or not performed at all.
? Local fencing operations have been eliminated and
burglary rings because of intensified enforcement of fraud
regulations. Pawn shops were not allowed to melt gold
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I la. entof,proent Receiver able to monitor six dif
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jewelry until a period of time elapsed, had to notify sher-
iff's department or local police of every piece they took in,
had to get driver's license and physical description of cus-
tomer.
? Retailers were urged to buy a standard rubber stamp
at any printing or stationery store to be used on the back of
each check. Stamp calls for name, address, physical de-
scription, one piece of ID with photo, date of birth, place
of employment, home and business phone where the indi-
vidual can be contacted.
? Members learn to ask the credit card customer to
sign the credit card slip first, before the clerk gets authori-
zation. If the customer should run out with the merchan-
dise without having signed the slip, the crime is only a lar-
ceny (or a felony of it's $100 or more). Mere possession of
a stolen card is only a misdemeanor. But if the slip is
signed, it's forgery plus illegal possession of a credit card.
? Members are warned about crooks taking hot lists
off retail counters to see if stolen cards in their possession
have been listed. Merchant members are urged to get au-
thorization on all transactions, regardless of amount, to
avoid the time gap while hot lists are prepared and distrib-
uted.
? Members learn how to deal with face to face en-
counters with bad check passers. Delay is the key. Tell the
thief the bank computer is down. Notify the authorities.
Mentally record a full description to aid in identification
CENTRAL
INTELLIGENCE
AGENCY
Overseas Career Appointments
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and apprehension.
? Members share the thieves' addresses and aliases,
which jurisdiction to go to, how the crimes can be pre-
vented. Information absorbed by bank managers, head
tellers, operations supervisors and retailers attending the
meetings is then passed along to their teller lines, counsel-
ors and floor people.
? Members learn that they can screen new employees
for only $5 by sending the name, address, Social Security
Number and date of birth to the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement. In this way they learn if the applicant
has a criminal record.
? Members learn that bank systems are not fool-proof
when a merchant inquires if a customer has sufficient bal-
ance to cover a check. Confirmation that there is a large
enough balance is no assurance that the money will be
there when the check is presented.
We were pleased to note that many of the recommenda-
tions shared among the members of the Palm Beach
County Economic Crime Unit were already listed in our
manual for banks, merchants and law enforcement agen-
cies, "Credit Card and Check Fraud: A Stop-Loss Man-
ual."
If you are interested in starting an economic crime unit
in your city or county and would like further information,
contact Detecive Liz Cline, Palm Beach County Sheriff's
Office, 3228 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, Florida
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33406. Her phone number is [phone].
ANTI-FRAUD SEMINARS SPONSORED
BY AMERICAN EXPRESS
Two thousand merchants in the five boroughs of New
York have been given anti-fraud training by American Ex-
press representatives in individual meetings.
An additional 2,500 New York merchants will be in-
vited to a series of seminars, sponsored by American Ex-
press with the cooperation of the New York City Police
Department Crime Prevention Bureau, to learn how to
take basic steps to protect themselves against credit card
and check crime, fraudulent travelers checks, burglary,
theft, shoplifting, and pilferage.
B. Garland Cupp, executive vice-president of American
Express' Payment Systems Divisions, claims that on-site
training of merchants has resulted in a 14% drop in fraud-
ulent use of the American Express card since 1982. (This
requires further explanation since national fraud statistics
are rising significantly.) Other cities where on-site training
was held were Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Miami and Los
Angeles, all hotbeds of credit card crime.
WHAT DID MERCHANTS LEARN?
1. Comparing the signature on credit card slip with
the signature on the credit card itself is the single most im-
portant step, according to American Express. (We disa-
gree.)
2. To spot altered cards, examine the card in good
light. Is there any change in the surface of the card? Any
change from the regular glossy surface to a mat surface? Is
there any erasure or white-out?
3. Check the expiration date. Since the American Ex-
press card says "Valid from ---- to ----," is the card being
offered before the starting date or after the expiration
date?
4. Is there anything suspicious about the shopping be-
havior of the customer? Is he shopping carefully, as a nor-
mal customer would, or is he grabbing merchandise?
5. If the customer demonstrates suspicious behavior
in making a purchase or in the handling of the credit card
transaction, the clerk should announce "Code 10" (fraud
in progress) when calling for authorization. The authoriza-
tion operator will then guide the clerk through a series of
"Yes" or "No" questions relating to the person, the items
being purchased, etc. If still suspicious, the operator will
ask to speak to the customer and will ask pointed questions
which can only be answered by the actual cardholder.
6. The key focus should be on the card and the hu-
man element, not on the approval code. (This is cause for a
merchant's uprising. If the approval code is insignificant,
why bother with it? We have been calling for a complete
redesign of the authorization system so that it has meaning
and protects the merchant. This was first suggested to all
credit card companies in 1982 by the publishers of this
newsletter.)
7. The retail clerk should watch while customer signs
travelers checks. If suspicious about the signature, he
should turn the check upside down and check the signature
again. The signatures do not have to be identical, but they
should be close.
8. Be suspicious if the customer or his accomplice
tries to distract the attention of the clerk while the checks
are being signed. If the salesperson was distracted, he
should return the check to the customer and ask him to
sign it again, this time under the American Express chair-
man's name which appears on the check.
9. If the clerk is still not satisfied, he should tell the
customer that he is required to call in on this series of num-
bers for validation. This will put the onus of responsibility
on American Express. The clerk returns the checks and re-
quests an alternative form of payment and suggests that
the customer contact American Express to straighten it
out.
10. Robbery. Detective Tony Luizzo of the New York
City Crime Prevention Bureau described two systems that
have been particularly effective in deterring crimes against
retailers.
The first, called the "buddy buzzer" involves a buzzer
system to signal the store next door that a robbery is taking
place. The neighboring store alerts the police.
The second is a much more sophisticated "networking
system" tested in the Jamaica Mall in Queens, a borough
of New York. At first 28 stores were involved successfully,
then 70 stores and now it will be used in 350 stores both in-
side the mall and in the vicinity.
Each retailer is equipped with a hand-held activator
which, when pressed, triggers a telephone system which
sends a silent signal to the guard booth at the mall. There a
thermal printer prints out a "red code" identifying the lo-
cation of the retailer being robbed. The security guard then
calls the police. Cost of this system is $50,000, of which
70% is paid by the police department and 30% by the mer-
chants.
Not all problems relate to an emergency, so the mer-
chants have installed a non-emergency activator at the
main register in each store. In the event of shoplifting, ag-
gressive behavior (which the police picturesquely call
"breaking chops") or other problems, the merchant walks
over to the cash register to press the silent activator. This
signal is received as a non-emergency notification at the
nearby guard booth and a security patrol scooter is di-
rected to the scene of the disturbance.
PRIVATE SECTOR HELPS PROVIDE PROTECTION
In the Bronx, New York, an area identified during the
Carter administration as a deprepsed area eligible for fed-
eral funds (which never materialized) merchants took the
helm of developing their own network for crime preven-
tion. One hundred stores joined in a radio network, with
the base radio located in a nearby nursing home, staffed 24
hours a day by the nursing home security guards. Upon re-
ceiving an alert signal they call the local police, who dis-
patch help. The system covers both robbery and burglary
break-in at a cost that is less expensive than using a regular
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burglar alarm service. Once a year each merchant makes a
tax-deductible contribution to the nursing home.
Systems such as the "buddy buzzer", "networking" or
"local cooperative communication" efforts are just a part
of the contribution merchants have made to provide for
their own safety.
Law enforcement agencies whom we have interviewed
have repeatedly stated that it is impossible with the rising
crime rate to be on top of all neighborhood crime. They
train many local groups to supplement the efforts of the
police department.
LOCAL MERCHANTS FOR
PRESSURE ON THE COURTS
When a robber is apprehended, large numbers of mer-
chants show up in the courtroom to apply pressure on the
judge for more meaningful sentences.
11. Shoplifting and pilferage. The New York City Po-
lice Department, via its 100-man Crime Prevention Bur-
eau, now offers to do a security survey for any merchant
who reqests it.
They inspect locks, lights, alarms, store layout, storage
and display of merchandise. They offer plans to reduce
shrinkage and shoplifting. They examine the hiring and
training of salespeople. They inspect sensitive areas such as
location of cash registers, location of check storage and
check writing, and location of employee restrooms and
lockers.
The survey team may recommend such devices as a
"check point," a radio frequency barrier which signals
when someone leaves with a article; magnetic bands for
merchandise; convex and parabolic mirrors; closed circuit
TV. They make both minimum and optimum recommen-
dations.
12. Street and subway crime in New York City. Street
crime makes it difficult for merchants to conduct business.
This has been reduced in many retail areas with the help of
8,300 auxiliary police, specially trained civilians who wear
a police uniform and a star instead of a badge, but carry
no gun. These volunteers contributed 1.2 million man
hours in 1983.
The Crime Prevention Bureau is just completing a
booklet on "Retail Security" and will make a limited num-
ber available to chambers of commerce; other merchant
groups and police departments who write to the Bureau at
120-55 Queens Boulevard, New York, New York 11424.
If you would like to attend a forthcoming seminar,
write to Maureen Sullivan, Director of Fraud Prevention,
American Express, 708 Third Avenue, New York, New
York 10017 or call her at [phone].
LAS VEGAS COMMANDS ATTENTION IN
TREATING THE CREDIT CARD CRIMINAL
One interview stands out above all the others as a
model for police and sheriffs' departments to follow. Most
of the officers with gripes asked us not to reveal their iden-
tity. But Commander Jerry Cunningham, chief of detec-
tives of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department,
has given us permission to share the following informa-
tion.
Las Vegas business community, police and private citi-
zens work together to identify, track and apprehend credit
card criminals. Las Vegas, seventh largest gambling city in
the United States, has three unique advantages when it
comes to spotting and apprehending criminals.
First, it is a moderate size community (500,000 popula-
tion, with 11 million visitors per year) located in the middle
of the desert. Exit roads can be easily blocked and the one
large commercial and two small craft airports can be easily
monitored.
Second, all the casinos are staffed by 3,000 to 4,000
highly trained and armed personnel 24 hours per day who
work hand in glove with the police.
Third, a large local credit agency screens both checks
and travelers checks for all the casinos. Because credit card
fraud often goes hand in hand with check fraud, the police
are able, with subpoena power, to get a line on offenders
before they can cause losses to banks and to the casinos. So
efficient is this coordination that the casino's security staff
is immediately alerted and can arrest the offender on the
spot.
When bad check passers are apprehended, fraudulent
credit cards are frequently picked up at the same time. This
is an important technique in getting bad credit cards off
the street.
Confiscating the fraudulent credit card should be the
beginning of an investigation, not the end. (Editorial
note.) Every effort should be made to find out how the
card or' cards go into the possession of the criminal. Both
the merchants who have already been ripped off, and the
cardholders whose credit is in jeopardy, are entitled to
know if responsibility for the theft, or failure to provide
adequate security, lie with the issuing bank or credit card
company.
Without this information, defrauded merchants in ev-
ery part of the country may be powerless to avoid being de-
bited by the issuer. With this information, a long-standing
problem may be corrected. For too long, police confisca-
tion of fraudulent credit cards when making bad check ar-
rests has served the issuers primarily.
Las Vegas fraud control staffing - 24 hour duty. Be-
cause Las Vegas is a 24 hour city, the police department
has to be geared to respond to fraud calls at all hours. Staff
available for this work consists of six full-time fraud inves-
tigators; 16 general assignment investigators available for
follow-up investigation; two handwriting experts; 110
squad cars; and two helicopters, with leased planes availa-
ble when necessary. Local citizens who comprise an aero
squad make available 35 additional planes.
Commander Cunningham has many other things work-
ing for him.
He or members of his staff sit in on monthly meetings
of the Casino Security Association as well as the Retail
Merchants Association - meetings which are also at-
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tended by representatives of local banks.
Credit card and check fraud are discussed at all of these
meetings and information is exchanged (similar to meet-
ings of the Palm Beach County Economic Crime Unit)
which leads to increased apprehensions. Members of both
organizations communicate constantly with each other by
phone or radio.
There is also an active neighborhood watch program in
Las Vegas, as well as an aggressive crime prevention PR
program sponsored by the police department.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and
the Sheriff's Office are one and the same, providing thor-
ough coverage of 110,000 square miles in the State of Ne-
vada. The police departments in small outlying towns are
able to call on the might of the LVPD so that even local
robberies can be pursued by multiple squad car and heli-
copters.
Commander Cunningham's department gets "excellent
cooperation" from attorneys and the local justice court.
Defendants find it so difficult to argue with the visible evi-
dence produced by the department and the testimony of
handwriting experts that few credit card and check fraud
cases ever reach the district court.
The structure of law enforcement in Las Vegas has im-
pelled many credit card thieves to concentrate on stealing
cards and card numbers from well-to-do gamblers rather
than on using stolen cards. With 11 million gamblers pass-
ing through Las Vegas annually, what better source of sup-
ply could they ask for? They can avoid tangling with the
local justice system, yet, by using the cards or numbers
stolen in Las Vegas, they can be winners in other parts of
the country. However, enough thieves try to sell stolen
cards while they are still in Las Vegas to keep Commander
Cunningham's department quite busy.
Las Vegas police receive grants and contributions to
help support their activities. One of the greatest assets of
the department is a non-profit corporation that solicits
grants and private donations to provide additional funds
for fighting white collar crime. With police officers as offi-
cers and community leaders such as councilmen, corporate
attorneys and hotel and casino executives as trustees, the
STIF Corporation, as it is called, sets objectives and puts
money into the Metropolitan Police Department to fund
covert and other operations, including education and
training.
A significant percentage of this money goes to purchase
stolen and counterfeit credit cards (the going rate is $20 a
card). Strange as it seems, the biggest beneficiaries of these
purchases, the issuing banks, do not reimburse the STIF
Corporation for removing the cards from circulation and
thereby limiting the banks' liability.
While credit card companies do make modest contribu-
tions to this fund, their contributions apparently do not
match the thousands of dollars worth of hot cards that are
being removed from the street. We fault these companies
and banks for failing to put forth adequate efforts to stop
the fraudulent use of their cards.
Prostitutes are an important source of stolen cards.
("We buy 'em right off the whores," said one Las Vegas
officer picturesquely.) Many more are purchased from so-
called "street scufflers," a category that exists between or-
ganized crime and the ordinary street criminal. Because of
the logistics of credit card and check fraud control in Las
Vegas, there is relatively little involvement of organized
crime in these activities.
All transactions to buy stolen or counterfeit credit
cards are made by the LVPD's extensive sting operation.
Every street purchase made his recorded on video tape.
"We buy credit cards the moment they are stolen," stated
Commander Cunningham. "We know every source in
town. Our 'street theater' video tapes are so good they are
deserving of an 'Academy Award,' " he continued.
In one recent operation the department accumulated
185 feet of criminal history records in order to obtain 140
arrests. In other operations, the department worked
closely with the U.S. Postal Inspectors.
To keep the criminals off guard, the police department,
aided by STIF Corporatin funds, changes its targets fre-
quently. They have made documentary films for use by the
business community; they have purchased machine guns
and explosives; purchased stolen government checks; de-
tected and pursued dishonest SETA employees.
Surprisingly, the banks take the biggest lickings from
credit card crime in Las Vegas. There are relatively few re-
tailers who suffer from credit card fraud even though they
are careless about asking for the customer's proper ID.
There are literally no mail order companies in Las Vegas to
provide solid target for credit card fraud.
The pawn shops in Las Vegas are the least cooperative
retailers. They refuse to provide Cunningham's depart-
ment with information on stolen personal possessions, in-
cluding cards. Nevertheless, STIF-supported covert opera-
tions have been successful in motivating many thieves to
bring stolen checks, credit cards, guns and merchandise to
cooperating fences, where arrests are made. In large-scale
operations, the police department has been successful in
arranging meetings at private homes.
Even though his detail has the highest proportion of
convictions, Commander Cunningham deplores the fact
that many of the criminals he apprehends plea bargain to
avoid incarceration. Nonetheless, his positive-thinking
evaluation of his department at the end of our interview
was, "We're pretty damn good." Our evaluation - we
agree!
If you'd like to learn more about how the LVPD com-
bats credit card crime, including how the non-profit STIF
Corporation funds many of its activities, you can write to
Commander Jerry Cunningham, Las Vegas Metropolitan
Police Department, 400 East Stewart Street, Las Vegas,
N.E. 89101. His telephone number is [phone].
For a free copy of the "Credit Card and Check Fraud
Self-Defense Catalog," write to Fraud and Theft Informa-
tion Bureau, P.O. Box 400, Boynton Beach, Florida
33425.
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SWAT IN A BOX
SPECIAL REPORT ON PRODUCTS
Is $49.95 worth of non-lethal police chemicals that has
been named "Swat in a Box" by its developer an alterna-
tive to a million dollar law-suit? Or an indictment of an of-
ficer for using too much force? Nearly 70% of the police
and sheriffs departments we have polled think so! Pictured
here is a box that can be carried in your patrol car (or just
be available with any supervisor) that has been tested by
the International Criminal Investigator Association. It
works!
It contains:
? Two CS Tear Gas Grenades (non-flamable). Dispells
in 28 seconds.
? One CS Tear Gas Grenade with plastic hose where
the chemical can be dispelled by placing in a key hole, un-
der door, or drilled into a wall, floor, or other entry point.
? One police size hand-unit to be carried by officers,
which upon striking the individual, will quickly stop him
or her from any actions against the officer or others with-
out any pity.
? One vehicle unit that has a special attachment that
can spray CS into a vehicle and cause the person(s) inside
to get out of the car within seconds. No need to break a
window.
We do not endorse products. We do test them to see if
they work. Recently an officer in New York City was in-
dicted by a grand jury when he shot and killed an 80-year-
old woman, who, while carrying a knife, resisted being put
out of her apartment for non-payment of rent. He used a
shot gun. One shot blew her arm, the second hit her in the
chest. The New York Police Department stated that the
shooting was justified. The response team was quoted as
saying they did not want to use tear gas because they would
have "to evacuate the entire building."
In Clark County, Nevada, we tested the CS Tear Gas
shown here and we took video tapes of its effect. While no
single item is going to answer all your problems . . . "clear
out" has these advantages. First, it does not cling to the
area sprayed. It will dissipate quickly if windows are
opened, and in some cases where fans are used. It will not
linger as do some tear gas units. It is not flamable. It is
very strong, and every officer that tested it had to leave a
large area in a very few seconds. For situations where there
are fights in a jail cell ... rather than risk injury of an un-
armed officer, the persons involved can be parted by using
chemicals. Where persons refuse to get out of a car and roll
up the window ... no need for a tow truck or to smash a
window. The CS Tear Gas handles it.
Swat in a Box is more than a tool. It shows to the court
and a jury (should that occasion arise) that your depart-
ment has an alternative to firearms, head busting batons,
etc. It is humane and yet effective. It is also effective
against animals and drunks and persons high on drugs.
Our association recommends the use of these non-
lethal chemicals, along with training in how to use them!
Just as you train to use a baton, handcuffs, firearms .. .
there is a one day workshop being offered on non-lethal
chemical weapons. Your department can order Swat in a
Box by using your police or sheriff's department station-
ery, Swat Unit, Aerko International Corporation, 516
N.E. 34th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33334. It is sold
to police, sheriff and security personnel only. It can only
be sent to a street address. While individuals may purchase
it . . . you must order it and identify your law enforcement
agency. The cost of $49.95 includes shipping, packing and
taxes. (In California special permits are required so please
check in this state only to obtain test unit for your depart-
ment.)
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CORRUPTION IN THE SOVIET UNION
By O.H. Rechtschaffen
CORRUPTION - SOVIET STYLE
In 1961, Nikita Krushchev pre-
dicted that within 20 years "insuffi-
ciency will be fully and finally elimin-
ated." The Soviet Union would enter
the final stages of utopian communism
as envisioned by Karl Marx.
Khrushchev implied that the Russian
people would enjoy the highest stand-
ard of living in the world and that pov-
ery, inequality, greed, corruption and
crime would disappear from Soviet so-
ciety.
Khrushchev's dream never material-
ized. Today, an ever increasing number
of Sovietologists assert that the Soviet
Union shows clear signs of historical
decline, despite the fact that it has built
one of the world's most powerful mili-
tary machines. In the process they have
short-changed the Soviet people.
The Soviet Union is a society of per-
vasive governmental control, where the
state runs everything. It is also a soci-
ety of pervasive corruption, where offi-
cials embezzle hundreds of millions of
rubles each year from state enterprises
and where the secret police are willing
to look the other way if the bribe is
right. Recently a loyal Soviet journalist
candidly summed it up: "There isn't
much the leadership can say about cor-
ruption today because everybody at the
top is raking off whatever he can. To
admit that corruption is widespread
would be to admit that the country has
stopped being revolutionary."
Almost anything can be obtained
through bribery - meat, automobiles,
apartments, admittance to universities,
better jobs and even permission to re-
side in Moscow.
Khrushchev admitted in 1962 that as
a result of widespread corruption
"state funds are squandered, housing
accomodations are granted unlawfully,
plots of land are allocated, pensions
are granted, students are admitted to
colleges and even diplomas are is-
sued." Nothing has changed in 20
years. Conditions today are probably
worse.
In 1982, Pravda reported that a
bookkeeper was sentenced to death
and dozens of other people were sen-
tenced to long prison terms for bribery
and extortion.
U.S. News and World Report re-
cently disclosed that the "I'll help you,
and you'll help me" syndrome is wide-
spread. Gift giving is a Russian tradi-
tion, but it has developed into petty
bribery, usually involving perfume,
chocolates, books, liquor and promises
of special consideration and favorit-
ism.
For a bottle of vodka or a few ru-
bles a Moscow policeman will overlook
a traffic violation, a patient will receive
better hospital care, a plumber will fix
a leaking faucet, custom officials will
overlook contraband goods and teach-
ers will help students pass their examin-
ations.
Corruption seriously undermines the
Soviet system:
? It demonstrates that the Soviet
economy is an impeccably planned
mess. It encourages emphasis on quan-
tity rather than quality, forging of sta-
tistics, juggling of books and bribery to
hide economic failures.
? It erodes public respect and confi-
dence in the entire government and
party structure.
? It reflects a society of shortages
caused by a corrupt and inefficient bu-
reaucracy.
? It corrodes ideological confidence
in communism.
? It represents a collapse of moral
values.
? It reflects loss of hope that life will
ever improve.
? It is easily widespread among mi-
nority nationalities and reflects overt
opposition to communism and "Great
Russian" dominance of the country.
CRIME - SOVIET STYLE
Karl Marx strongly believed that
within a few years after the establish-
ment of a communist state, a society
would emerge where coercion would be
unnecessary. In the absnce of eco-
nomic exploitation, crime and corrup-
tion would "wither away" and laws
and the police would become unneces-
sary.
Lenin, who modified these views,
felt that coercive laws and the police
would be needed for some time to curb
individual excesses.
Neither Marx nor Lenin would have
remotely imagined that after 65 years
of communist rule, the Soviet system
would still be struggling with murders,
rapes, muggings, burglaries, corrup-
tion, embezzlement, bribery, teenage
gangs, juvenile delinquency, alcohol-
ism, black marketing and street crimes.
So concerned have Russian authori-
ties become about crime that the Minis-
try of Internal Affairs has established a
special institute to examine the causes
of crime.
Brezhnev, in a speech that is often
quoted, declared that "crime is a social
evil and it is necessary to struggle
against it daily, firmly and decisively."
Seven million people have been re-
cruited to serve as volunteer police-
men, a reflection of how serious crime
has become.
Drinking is considered the main
cause of crime. The Soviet journal
Social Law claims that 50% of all con-
victed persons were drunk at the time
of the offense.
Soviet authorities also claim that
much of the violence is committed by
the young, 14 to 18 years of age, who
roam in gangs through city neighbor-
hoods armed with zip guns and long
knives.
Foreign observers note that urbani-
zation has resulted in a breakdown of
the family structure and working par-
ents have little time to supervise their
children. The divorce rate is very high
and family control weak.
A commander of a police precinct
was quoted as saying that "if I were to
send in to police headquarters the gen-
uine figures about juvenile crime in my
precinct, I would not last a day in my
job. This is what they all do; I am not
the only one. Juvenile crime is a
scourge in Moscow and in other cities
as well."
The crime rate in the Soviet Union is
difficult to measure because statistical
data remains secret. Violence and
crime are rarely publicized and often
denied and covered up.
Despite the high crime rate in Mos-
cow and other metropolitan areas, the
level of fear among the population re-
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mains low. Fearlessness stems from ig-
norance because crime and violence are
rarely reported.
A journalist of one of Russia's larg-
est newspapers Izvestia commented:
"If we wrote about crime in Moscow
every day, there would be as much fear
as there is in New York." As a rule, a
few solved cases are discussed in the
media in order to present a picture of
police effectiveness and as a deterrent
to other troublemakers.
One Muscovite summed it up in this
way: "Perhaps we feel safe because we
really don't know what is going on. We
usually only hear about crimes when
they happen to neighbors. I would say
the most feared crimes are apartment
robberies or muggings."
(Reprinted courtesy of Texas Police Journal.)
DRUG PROBLEM THREAT TO WORLD SECURITY
Vienna - Worldwide drug abuse
and related crimes reached unprece-
dented proportions last year, even pos-
ing a threat to the security of some
countries, according to a United Na-
tions report.
"Illicit production, trafficking and
abuse has become even more serious"
in 1984, the annual report of the Inter-
national Narcotics Control Boat said.
"An unprecedented number of coun-
tries and human beings are affected:
"The problem has become so perva-
sive that . . . even the very security of
some states is threatened," the report
said.
It appeared to refer to Colombia,
where the justice minister was assassin-
ated last May after declaring war on
drug traffickers.
The 13-member panel of non-gov-
ernmental experts cooperates closely
with the World Health Organization
and other United Nation organizations
in the prevention of drug abuse.
One of the few positive findings in
the 45-page report was that U.S. high
school students were turning away
from marijuana.
"The abusive consumption of drugs
remains a serious public health prob-
lem," in the United States, the study
said. It added, however, that "overall
percentages of new and current abus-
ers" of some drugs are believed to be
leveling off within some age groups.
In contrast, it described the drug
abuse and trafficking situation in
Western Europe as "grim and deterior-
ating.
"The number of abusers, involving
even the very young is growing," it
said. "The number of drug-related
deaths is increasing in many (West
European) countries."
Heroin use there is "a major public
health problem," according to the re-
port. It said the amount reported
seized has grown steadily in the past
decade and jumped to 1.6 tons in 1983
- about 40% more than in 1982.
Italy, West Germany and Britain re-
ported the highest amounts seized and
"other countries most gravely affected
by heroin abuse are France, the Neth-
erlands and Belgium," it said.
Cocaine "has become a major drug
of abuse" with the largest recent thou-
sands seized in West Germany, Bel-
gium, France and Spain, said the re-
port. In Western Europe, ampheta-
mine misuse is greatest in Scandinavia,
it said.
In the United States, heroin abuse
last year remained "relatively stable"
while cocaine usage "continues to esca-
late," the report said. Most widely mis-
used is marijuana, "and the number of
persons who use this drug once or more
monthly is estimated at more than 20
million."
The report said, however, that hash-
ish and marijuana use among U.S.
high school seniors declined in 1984 for
the fifth successive year. It attributed
the trend partly to education, and
changes in attitudes.
In Canada, the study said, "Abuse
and illicit traffic in drugs constitute
serious and growing concerns. Canna-
bis and its derivatives remain the most
extensively abused.
"Cocaine is increasingly becoming
the second drug of abuse (and) there
also seems to be ample quantities of
heroin on the illicit market."
In Latin America and the Carib-
bean, the study reported "continued
expansion of illicit production and
trafficking, notably of cocaine. Many
countries in Central America and the
Caribbean continue to be important
transit staging centers for illicit traf-
fic."
The report said the Middle East re-
mains a major source of opiates for the
international illicit traffic.
World-wide drug abuse problems outlined in the
United Nations report:
UNITED STATES
Heroin abuse is "relatively stable" but cocaine us-
age "continues to escalate." Marijuana - most
widely abused - is used by more than 20 million
People once or more monthly, although use is de-
clining among high school seniors.
CANADA
"Abuse and Illicit traffic in drugs constitute seri.
ous and growing concerns. Cannabis and its deriva-
tives remain the most extensively abuse."
LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
"Continued expansion of illicit production and
trafficking, notably of cocaine." Many countries
are "important transit staging centers" for drug
traffic.
WESTERN EUROPE
Situation "grim and deteriorating." Heroin use
has become "a major public health problem" in
Belgium, Britain, France, Italy, the Nethrlands and
West Germany. Cocaine "has become a major drug
of abuse" with large amunts seized in Belgium,
France, Spain and West Germany. Amphetamine
misuse is greatest in Scandinavia.
MIDDLE EAST
"Remains a major source of opiates." The area,
during the first seven months of 1994, was the
source for more than half the heroin seized in North
America and around 70% seized in Western Europe.
An unidentified drug enforcement
agent (right) escorts Ray L. Corona
(left), chairman of the board of the
Sunshine State Bank in Miami from
DEA headquarters in Miami after he
and another top bank official were ar-
rested on charges of smuggling mari-
juana according to the U.S. State At-
torney's office.
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THE ILLEGAL DRUG SUB-ECONOMY
By George Ed Litaker
INTRODUCTION
The illegal drug industry continues
to grow rapidly and is certainly one of
the largest areas of the sub-economy in
the United States.
Illicit drugs and narcotics profits
have a devastating effect on our society
and economy. Illicit drugs generated
an estimated $79 billion in retail sales
in the United States during 1980; up
22% from 1979. The enormous profits
available make drug trafficking an at-
tractive venture, which some people
believe is worth the risks inherent in
such an illegal enterprise.'
Drug trafficking is big business. It is
organized to earn huge profits. Each
year Americans spend almost $80 bil-
lion to buy illicit drugs. The statistics
are staggering. Like all other busi-
nesses, drug trafficking organizations
have three elements:
? Workers and mangers;
? Products and services; and
? Money and other assets.
Historically, criminal businesses
have been attacked by arresting and
punishing their workers and managers.
And we have attacked them by seizing
their illegal products, such as narcotics
and other dangerous drugs. But we
have ignored their third dimension.
For too long we have not attacked the
money, property or assets of these ille-
gal companies.
All businesses need money and prop-
erty to create products, to deliver them
to their customers, to promote sales,
and to grow. Criminal businesses are
no different. Drug dealers need money
and property to produce and market
their contraband goods. They need
money to buy silence from witnesses,
to pay bribes, to expand into other ille-
gal activities, to move into new towns
and cities, to seduce more citizens into
joining their ranks, and to pay for all
their other illegal expenses.
Money and property are at the heart
of all businesses. As long as assets and
profits go untouched, lost workers and
lost products can always be quickly re-
placed. Even with leaders in jail, con-
federates continue the dangerous and
deadly business of drug trafficking by
using the wealth and property left be-
hind. And those imprisoned quickly re-
turn to drug dealing after being re-
leased, because criminals making huge
profits see jail as an acceptable risk as
long as they get to keep their earnings.
They can invest their illegal fortunes
while in jail, and the money will be
waiting for them, with interest, when
they get out.
Today's drug agents can no longer
:onfine themselves to the "who, what,
where, when, and why" of drugs and
drug dealers. During every phase of
their investigations, they must now
ask: "What about the dollars?" If we
are ever to be successful against drug
traffickers, we must raid their treasur-
ies, we must confiscate their ill-gotten
wealth.2
In the course of this' paper, an at-
tempt will be made to put a monetary
figure on the amount of revenue that
the drug sub-economy contributes to
the total sub-economy. The impact of
the drug sub-economy upon the money
market will be reviewed.
THE PROBLEM
The problem itself does not lie solely
with the abuse of illicit drugs, but their
substantial contribution to lost revenue
in the illegal sub-economy.
In Miami last year, a teenager named
Randy Randall found $800,000 in
cash. He gave away shopping bags full
of money to friends and bought a few
dream items - a Jaguar, an Eldorado
- but almost $700,000 was still un-
spent when the police caught up with
him. Randy told them he had come
across this lode in the trunk of a car
he'd stolen. Although charges of car
theft were filed, the prosecution went
nowhere; the owner of the car, a man
who professed to be a grocer, said the
money wasn't his and then skipped
town. Randy's lawyer is now testing
whether the theory of finders-keepers
can be applied to unclaimed drug
money. It is assumed that Randy's
good luck was made possible by the
business of illegal drugs, most likely
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the business of cocaine, which per on the very best technology available.
ounce is worth more than thousand The source of the drugs in question is
dollar bills.3 not the distant poppy fields, the labor
Among all the drugs not sold at of illiterate farmers, or the amateurish
pharmacies, cocaine is best at creating products of backroom laboratories,
instant wealth. Cocaine trafficking has but the most sophisticated chemical
been established as the most lucrative factories in existence. Chief among the
enterprise of all underworld ventures drugs in question is methaqualone -
according to the drug enforcement ad- called "Quaaludes," "Sopors," "Me-
ministration. In transactions between a quin," or "Ludes." This is a synthetic
Colombian exporter and an American sedative-type drug which can be addic-
buyer, money is seldom counted any tive and cause grand mal seizures.
longer. It is weighed. A hundred Listed in Schedule II of the Controlled
pounds of 20 dollar bills comes out to a Substances Act, it is legitimately avail-
figure that, while not exact to the dol- able, but the entire population of the
lar, is close enough. On March 16, United States consumes less than four
1983, six Customs' agents needed 45 tons annually for medical purposes.
minutes to lug $3.6 million in 20s and The amount available for abuse vastly
50s into a senate hearing room as an exceeds this quantity, and until re-
exhibit for a hearing about money cently the sources remained unknown.
laundering. No table could hold the ex- According to the drug abuse warning
hibit, which weighed 700 pounds and network national report, not only is the
which is a fraction of the overall prof- illegitimate sale of methaqualone
its from cocaine. In 1983, the sellers of growing rapidly, but deaths and injur-
cocaine were estimated to have earned ies associated with methaqualone have
a collective $35 billion or so. What been increasing more rapidly than any
happens to all that cash? Thirty-five other single drug problem.6
billion dollars!4 The contribution of methaqualone
Although cocaine is probably the to the illegal drug sub-economy is stag-
most expensive drug in the illegal drug gering. Exact figures are not obtaina-
sub-economy, it is only one of several ble for obvious reasons, but data has
drugs that are sold in the illegal drug been gathered from methaqualone seiz-
sub-economy. ures over the past few years. In the
In July of 1982, 20 people, including United States in 1978, 630 kilograms of
two Washington area lawyers, were in- methaqualone were seized for an esti-
dicted in Alexandria in a crackdown on mated street value of $3.2 million. In
what federal prosecutors called one of 1979, the figure rose to 7,921 kilo-
the area's largest drug smuggling rings. grams seized, for an estimated street
The operation allegedly funneled 130 value of $40 million. In 1980, the fig-
tons of South American hashish and ure was 12,587 kilograms seized for a
marijuana worth an estimated $75 mil- street value of $63.5 million, and in
lion into the area during a nine-year 1981, the staggering amount of 57,175
period. kilograms were seized for an estimated
Many of those named in the street value of $426 million.7
38-count indictment were said to be As can be seen from the examples
either jailed on other charges or fugi- given, the total illegal drug market can
tives in Costa Rica or elsewhere. correctly be labeled as the largest sector
The two lawyers were accused of of the illegal sub-economy in the
helping the ring launder $30 million in United States.
profits. Lawyer W. Stephen McCon- CONCLUSION
nell of Annandale, a former tax attor- The sub-economy as a whole has a
ney with the Justice Department, was great impact upon the money market in
charged with laundering money as well the United States. However, as was
as assisting in the acquisition of boats stated earlier, the illegal drug sector of
and aircraft that were used in the drug the sub-economy contributes to the
smuggling operation.5 greatest extent to the impact upon the
Also, during the past several years, money market in the United States.
the United States has increasingly be- The United States money market is
come the victim of a new and different impacted on in several different ways
kind of international drug traffic based due to the sales of illegal drugs. The
most obvious impact is lost tax revenue
on the billions of dollars that change
hands in the drug ring. Also, a large
amount of dollars are at times taken
out of the money market altogether,
which puts increased pressure on the
overall money supply.
There is no easy solution to solving
the problem created by the sales of ille-
gal drugs. Probably the best answer
thus far is the forfeiture laws which
permit the government to take posses-
sion of the following:
1. All moneys and other property
used to buy contraband drugs;
2. All property bought with the
profits from drug dealing; and
3. All monies used to facilitate any
drug law violation.8
The entire drug sub-economy will
most likely never be harnessed, but at
least some of the sub-economy assets
can be brought back into proper per-
spective with the forfeiture laws.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Battiata, Mary. "20 Are Indicted in
Crackdown on Drug Smuggling."
The Washington Post, July 1, 1982.
Goldstein, Robert L. "Cocaine, Mid-
dle Class High." Time Magazine,
July 6, 1981.
Kohn, Howard. "Cocaine: You Can
Bank on It." Esquiare Magazine,
1983.
Maher, Charles. "Two Banks Cooper-
ate in Federal 'Sting' to Break Co-
caine Ring." Los Angeles Times,
July 1, 1982.
Mullen, Francis M. Drug Enforce-
ment. United States Department of
Justice, 1982.
National Narcotics Intelligence Con-
sumers Committee: Narcotics Intel-
ligence Estimate. Drug Enforcement
Administration, 1982.
Rangel, Charles B. A Report on Nar-
cotics Abuse and Control. U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1984.
Tivnan, Edward. "Cashing In." New
York Magazine, 1983.
1. Francis M. Mullen. Drug Enforcement, U.S. Depart-
ment of Justice, 1982, page I.
2. Ibid., pages 5-10.
3. Howard Kohn. "Cocaine: You Can Bank on It." Es-
quire Magazine. 1983, pages 77-78.
4. Ibid., page 77.
5. Mary Battiata. "20 Are Indicted in Crackdown on
Drug Smuggling." Washington Post. July 1, 1982.
6. Francis M. Mullen. Drug Enforcement. U.S. Depart-
ment of Justice, 1982, page 11.
7. Ibid., page 12.
8. Ibid., page 10.
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS INVESTIGATORS WORKSHOP
SATURDAY and SUNDAY, JUNE 22-23, 1985
HYATT REGENCY HOTEL ON WACKER DRIVE
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION TECHNIQUES
DEALING WITH CARNIVALS AND FAIRS
THEIR TIES TO ORGANIZED CRIME
Every community in America will at one time or another have
a visit from a carnival or fair. Behind the glitter and
music is a multi-million dollar racket that stretches from illegal
games to unsafe rides and unhealthy food. Payoffs to
police, sheriffs, judges and prosecutors are made all the time. Being able to stop crooked games and investigate
these carnivals is the subject of our workshop. It will be an on-hands course by a carny turned investigator. This is a
"must'' course for every police agency. Fronted by charities, millions of dollars are stolen every year. Organized
crime figures and families often control even ''honest fairs.''
POLICE ALTERNATIVES TO LETHAL FORCE
AND FUGITIVE APPREHENSION
Demonstration and lessons on alternatives to lethal force, including chemicals, may save you in a civil or criminal
action. We will demonstrate how the the newer more powerful police chemicals can be used. An expert in fugitive
apprehension will demonstrate techniques in taking wanted persons into safe custody. All these are actual demon-
strations.
TO ENROLL
Courses are granted credit from Columbia Pacific University and this association. Fee for both days is $65 and in-
cludes books and chemicals. Rooms at the Hyatt Regency are $60 single or double. Please make your own arrange-
ments. Food, rooms and travel are not included. Courses start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. both days.
Send name and department to: Criminal Investigators Association, P.O. Box 15350, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815.
Payment in advance is required and not refundable. Class size is limited. Phone: [phone] for more informa-
tion. Certificates will be issued by the university upon completion.
THE INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR
American Police Academy
P.O. Box 15350
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
Daniel J. Meany 111
Executive Director
NON-PROFIT ORO.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT NO. 5963
MIAMI, FL
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