105 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
105 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 11:43 CST
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From: srw@ihlpv.att.com
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Subject: Drama, Excitement, Surveillance !
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This isn't directly related to brewing per se, but I thought the
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readers of this digest might be interested in a little drama that
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is unfolding at the Chicago Indoor Garden Supply store, 297 N.
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Barrington Rd, Streamwood, IL 60107.
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I stopped in this past Saturday (3-20-93) to pick up some liquid yeast
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and the owner asked an unusual question, "Would you like to see a
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surveillance camera?" At first I thought it was a trick question, but
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he lead me to the door, shoved a pair of binoculars in my hand, and
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directed my attention to a utility pole directly across the street.
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Strange. Power transformers don't usually have little windows on the
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front and high gain antennas on the top.
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The owner went on to allege that the Drug Enforcement Agency placed a
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camera there to see who visits the store. He claimed that they would
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send chase cars after the patrons to get the license tag and then in
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some cases show up at their door step demanding to search their home.
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The store not only sells the necessary supplies for making beer, but
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they also sell supplies for growing spices and herbs in your home.
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It appears that the DEA assumes all customers of the store are
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growing marijuana. The disturbing part, the owner alleges, is that
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the DEA does not have a search warrant when they show up that your
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door.
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It's been a couple of days now and no one has shown up at my door,
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but I can say for a fact that there was a suspicious looking
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transformer on the utility pole Saturday afternoon. I wonder if
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they are monitoring Handy Andy, Franks Nursery, K-mart, etc.
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I'm sure if you call the store at 708-885-8282 they will be glad to
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tell you the latest chapter in this unfolding drama.
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The local CBS affiliate, WBBM Channel 2, is going to do a news story
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tonight (Monday). This could be interesting.
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Steve Walk -- 708-713-7409 (Voice) 708-713-7963 (FAX)
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Room IHP 2F-520
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Software Systems and Technologies Department
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AT&T Bell Laboratories
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263 Shuman Boulevard
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Naperville, IL 60566-7050
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att!ihlpv!srw or srw@ihlpv.att.com
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------------------------------
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Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 22:46:20 CST
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From: "Roger Deschner " <U52983@UICVM.UIC.EDU>
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Subject: HomeBrew Store Staked out by Feds
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This story was on WBBM-TV, Channel 2, Chicago's CBS station, on this
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evening's 10 O'Clock News.
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Starting a week ago, the Drug Enforcement Administration has been
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watching Chicago Indoor Garden Supply of Streamwood, IL, from a camera
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somewhat ineptly camouflaged as an electric transformer on a utility pole
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across the street. This store does 70% of its business in homebrewing
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suppies, and has become one of the favorite suppliers to Chicago area
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homebrewers. Two homebrewers were interviewed by Channel 2 who had been
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followed home from the store by the Federalies, and had their homes
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ransacked for drugs. When Ch.2's news truck parked in front of a nearby
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storefront the DEA has been using as a staging location, an "interesting"
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scene unfolded with a Ch.2 reporter not getting very many answers from
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the Feds, who tried in vain to keep their cover. (Note: Ch.2 did
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obscure their faces as per standard practice when showing undercover
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agents.) Then a swarm of Streamwood Police Dept. cars came, sirens and
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lights going, to try to chase away the Ch.2 news crew.
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The whole slant of the story was that this was a case of the DEA going
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too far in "Operation Green Merchant", where they are going after stores
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in Suburban Chicago which they suspect are supplying marijuana growers
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with lights, fertilizer, etc. The presumption is that if they follow
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enough homebrewers and other purchasers of perfectly legal merchandize
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home from this store, eventually they'll find drugs in somebody's house,
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and then they can sieze and close the store. Since they have an officer
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assigned full-time to follow customers of this store home, they figure
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the odds are in their favor.
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Channel 2 Chicago is to be complimented for broadcasting this story, and
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for emphasizing several times during it that homebrewing is legal. Watch
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for further developments - WBBM-TV generally does a good job of following
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up on stories of this sort.
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------------------------------
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- - - - - - - - - end forwarded article - - - - - - -
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======================================================================
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Jeffrey Adam Johnson Internet: jeff_lp@frodo.b30.ingr.com
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( "I speak only for myself." )
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======================================================================
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---
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