295 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
295 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
Crime Information - a Valuable Commodity
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Your Right to Withhold it While Negotiating for Rewards
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Rewards from the Government
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Each law enforcement branch of government has one or more provisions to pay
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rewards for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of anyone
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violating the laws under their jurisdiction. Usually, the tipster must
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contact the appropriate department first to qualify for the reward from
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that department. Since most good rewards are paid under Federal laws, the
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person to contact for negotiating rewards is an FBI agent.
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Most federal laws offer rewards for information leading to the arrest,
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conviction, apprehension of felons. or the recovery of missing equipment.
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Your information on criminal activity can be worth anywhere from $100 to
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$250,000. CrimeFighters should know how much information they can divulge
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to get authorities interested -- without giving them all the information
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before they get a binding agreement for payment. It's important to know
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where you stand if a law enforcement officer tries to bully you into a full
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disclosure without a written agreement to pay a reward.
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Information Concerning a Crime
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Title 18, Section 4, Misprision of Felony
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"Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable
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by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible
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make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military
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authority under the United States, shall be fined not more than $500 or
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imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both. (June 25, 1948, ch 645, section
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1, 62 Stat. 684)"
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* * * * * * *
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Comment: Misprision is probably an unfamiliar word to you. A simple
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translation is concealing or covering up a crime. The term felony might
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also need explanation. It was defined by lawmakers as the following:
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Title 28, Section 1, Offenses - Classified
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Notwithstanding any Act of Congress to the contrary:
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(1) Any offense punishable by death or imprisonment for a term exceeding
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one year is a felony.
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(2) Any other offense is a misdemeanor.
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(3) Any misdemeanor, the penalty for which does not exceed imprisonment for
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a period of six months or a fine of not more than $500, or both, is a petty
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offense." (June 25, 1948)"
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* * * * * *
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Comment: The above definition was prepared more than 45 years ago! The $500
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amount may now be considerably more (or should be). It says a felony is any
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crime punishable by death or more than one year in jail. This is a simple
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rule of thumb to distinguish between a felony and a misdemeanor. There are
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some exceptions, depending on the crime.
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Negotiating a Reward
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The law of misprision requires some positive action to conceal a crime from
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authorities. There was a unique case concerning an informer who made a
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partial disclosure to the District Attorney, but the informer withheld the
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details while he negotiated a reward. The D.A. got hard-nosed about it and
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made threatening noises. The tipster was stubborn. The negotiations
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collapsed and the details weren't divulged. As a result, the informer was
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charged with misprision of a felony -- but wasn't convicted!
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Reason: To successfully prosecute a person for misprision, the intent to
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conceal or cover up is essential. Withholding details while an informer
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negotiates for a reward is not an positive act of concealment or cover up.
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In fact, the intent of the informer is to tell the details; delay was just
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a matter of successfully negotiating a reward. A prosecutor would find it
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hard to get a conviction of misprision when it may be the FBI agent who
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refuses to negotiate in good faith to pay a reasonable reward!
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The key word is reasonable. The informer has the right to withhold the
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details until negotiations are successfully concluded. On the other hand,
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it doesn't mean the FBI agent or D.A. has to agree to pay unrealistic
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rewards just because it's demanded. In such an event, the D.A. might be
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able to force the informer, by subpoena, to appear in front of a grand jury
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and to witness under oath for regular witness fees!
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Suggestion: Be reasonable and flexible in your negotiations. See chapter 28
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for a formula to use as a guide for negoiating rewards.
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Case Law
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"Defendant who made truthful, though partial disclosure to Secret Service
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of information about counterfeiting operation, but who withheld other
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information because Secret Service agent would not pay him for it did not
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take affirmative step to conceal crime, and thus his actions did not
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constitute misprision of a felony." United States vs Ciambrone (1984, CA9
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Nev) 750 F2d 1416)
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"Conviction for violation of 18 USCS section 4 requires proof of
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affirmative act of concealment and addition to failure to disclose."
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People vs West (1980, 408 Mich 332, 291 NW2d 48)
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"Mere failure to report felony is not sufficient to sustain conviction for
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misprision of felony in that violation of 18 section 4 requires some
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positive fact designed to conceal from authorities fact that felony has
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been committed." United States vs Davila. (1983, CA5 Tex F2d 715, reh den
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(CA5 Tex) 703 F2d 557)
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"In order to sustain conviction for misprision of felony, government must
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prove that felony was committed, that defendant had knowledge of felony,
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that he failed to notify authorities, and that he took affirmative step to
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conceal crime." United States vs Davila (1983, CA5 Tex) 698 F2d 715, reh
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den (CA5 Tex) 703 F2d 557"
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* * * * * *
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Case law indicates a CrimeFighter may make a partial disclosure to start
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negotiations but can hold back details until an amount is agreed upon and
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put in writing. Law enforcement agents can't (and shouldn't) threaten a
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CrimeFighter with misprision of a felony because he won't provide full
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disclosure without a signed agreement for reasonable payment. The FBI may
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not like being forced to be compete with other agencies, but no agent or
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agency can force you to divulge the confidential information or prevent you
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from shopping for rewards.
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If negotiations bog down with an agency, try a different agency, and try
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for a better offer - providing it is in their jurisdiction to handle the
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prosecution. For example: Drug smuggling involves many law violations and
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may come under the FBI, DEA and Customs. State laws may also be applicable.
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State Police, Highway Patrol and local Police Departments may be prepared
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to offer suitable rewards to obtain 50% of possible fines and forfeitures.
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* * * * * *
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Informer's Anonymity Guaranteed by Law
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Federal law guarantees no one may get the name of the tipster who provides
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confidential information or evidence against a lawbreaker.
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Title 5 Section (n)68 is a long section that deals with the do's and don'ts
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about confidential information. The following are excerpts from Title 5
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section 552 (n)68 that relate to restrictions on confidential information.
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* * * * * *
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"Section 552 Public Information: agency rules, opinions, orders, records
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and proceedings.
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(a) Each agency shall make available to the public information as follows:
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(Part (a) deals with the access to government information and the
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availability of non-confidential information. Section (b) deals with the
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restrictions)
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(7) records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only
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to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or
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information (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement
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proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair or an
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impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to disclose the
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identity of a confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign
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agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information
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on a confidential basis, and, in the case of a record of information
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compiled by criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal
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investigation or by an agency conducting a lawful national security
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intelligence investigation, information from a confidential source, (E)
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would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations
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or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement
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investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could be reasonably be
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expected to risk circumvention of the law, or (F) could reasonably be
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expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual."
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* * * * * *
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An idea of what may be paid for information can be found in Title 28 USCS
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524 - Availability of Appropriations. This law authorizes the Attorney
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General of the United States to disburse funds to various departments. Of
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importance to readers, it also mentions specific reward limits and who may
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authorize them.
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Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund
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Title 28 United States Code (USCS) 524
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"(c)(1) There is established in the United States Treasury a special fund
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to be known as the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund
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(hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the "Fund") which shall be
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available to the Attorney General without fiscal year limitation for the
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following purposes of the Department of Justice -
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(A) the payment, at the discretion of the Attorney General, of any expenses
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necessary to seize, detain, inventory, safeguard, maintain, advertise, or
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sell property under seizure, detention, or forfeited pursuant to any law
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enforced or administered by the Department of Justice, or any other
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necessary expenses incident to the seizure, detention, or forfeiture of
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such property: such payments may include -
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(B) the payment of awards for information or assistance directly relating
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to violations of the criminal drug laws of the United States;
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(C) the payment of awards for information or assistance leading to a civil
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or criminal forfeiture under the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and
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Control Act of 1970 (21 sec 800 et seq) or a criminal forfeiture under the
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Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Statute (18 USC 1961
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et seq), at the discretion of the Attorney General.
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(G) for purchase of evidence of any violation of the Controlled Substances
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Act, the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act, Chapter 96 of Title
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18 (sections 1961 et seq) or sections 1956 and 1957 of Title 18; and
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Amounts for paying the expenses authorized by subparagraphs (A)(ii), (B),
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(C), (F), and (G) shall be specified in appropriations acts. Amounts for
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other authorized expenditures and payments from the Fund, including
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equitable sharing payments, are not required to be specified in
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appropriations acts. The Attorney General may exempt the procurement of
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contract service under subparagraph (A) under the fund from section 3709 of
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the Revised Statutes of the United States (41 USC 5), title III of the
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Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 USC 251 and
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following), and other provisions of law as may be necessary to maintain the
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security and confidentiality of related criminal investigations.
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(2) any award paid from the Fund for information, as provided in paragraph
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(1)(B) or (C), shall be paid at the discretion of the Attorney General or
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his delegate, under existing departmental delegation policies for the
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payment of awards, except the authority to pay an award of $250,000 or more
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shall be not be delegated to any person other than the Deputy Attorney
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General, the Associate Attorney General, the Director of the Federal Bureau
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of Investigation, or the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement
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Administration. Any award for information pursuant to paragraphs (1)(B)
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shall not exceed $250,000. Any award for information pursuant to paragraph
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(1)(C) shall not exceed the lesser of $250,000 or one-fourth of the amount
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realized by the United States from the property forfeited.
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(9) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary for the
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purposes described in subparagraphs (A)(ii), (B), (C), (F) and (G) of
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paragraph (1). At the end of each of fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992,
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unobligated amounts not to exceed $150,000,000 remaining in the fund shall
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be deposited in the Special Forfeiture Fund, except that an amount not to
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exceed $150,000,000 or, if determined necessary by the Attorney General to
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meet asset specific expenses, an amount equal to one-twelfth of the
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previous year's expenditures may be carried forward and remain available
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for appropriation in the next fiscal year.
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(10) For the purposes of this subsection, property is forfeited pursuant to
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a law enforced or administered by the Department of Justice if it is
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forfeited pursuant to -
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(A) any criminal forfeiture proceeding;
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(B) any civil forfeiture proceeding; or
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(C) any civil administrative forfeiture proceeding conducted by the
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Department of Justice, except to the extent that the seizure was effected
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by a Customs officer or that custody was maintained by the United States
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Customs Service in which case the provisions of section 613A of the Tariff
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Act of 1930 (19 USC 1613A) shall apply."
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As amended Nov. 18, 1988 P.L. 100-690, Title VI, Subtitle B, section 102
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Stat 4320)"
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* * * * * *
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Another, similar fund is the Customs Forfeiture Fund, mentioned in more
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detail in Chapter 14.
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As you can see, awards (or rewards) authorized paid under subparagraph
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(1)(B) or (C) can be up to $250,000! Of course that doesn't mean all
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rewards will be that amount. That's the maximum authorized. The reward for
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turning in a small-time teenage dope dealer, peddling marijuana, for
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example, might net you $1,000 but probably not much more. It's difficult
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to state a specific amount for any level of criminal activity because each
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situation varies and that's why it's negotiable. The reward amount depends
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on many factors, including personal risks involved.
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The above is basic information to determine a reward amount that may be
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worth anywhere from $1,000 to $250,000. The U.S. District Attorney or an
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FBI agent is the one you negotiate with. They are bound by existing
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departmental policies (or guidelines) for the payment of awards.
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Incidentally, if an agent or agency says they are restricted by such
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guidelines to pay minimal rewards, that's their problem, not yours. Take it
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to the highest bidder. "Guidelines" aren't inflexible. They can be changed
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if they want the case bad enough. When there's a lot of money in fines and
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forfeitures, and they get half, they may bend the rules to pay you half. If
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not, try someone else. If no one is interested in paying 50 percent of
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fines and forfeitures to you as a reward, the lawbreaker might be very
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happy to settle your civil suit for the same amount -- 50% of anticipated
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and pending fines and forfeitures -- for reduced charges.
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F9 for next Chapter
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