I feel a 1970s rock guitar and a Scorsese film starting
What does Bal Harbour, Florida and
corruption in Chicago law enforcement have in common?
Too much, apparently.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago and the Internal Revenue Service last week carted away hundreds of confidential files of the Tri-County Task Force, including records that show the officers regularly withdrew large amounts of cash from the bank with no receipts to show where it went, according to people familiar with the investigation.
As police chief of Bal Harbour, Tom Hunker headed up the Tri-County Task Force, which laundered at least $71.5 million for drug cartels. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago is investigating its actions.
[my emphasis]
You know that has got to be a conservative number. This is a shining example of how brilliant the War on Drugs is—the idea here was that these law enforcement agencies were posing as drug money launderers, laundering the drug money for drug cartels, giving the cartels back the laundered money, and not arresting anyone. But, don't worry, it was called a "sting operation." So, that's that. These American patriots kept a little for themselves, you know, to wet their beak. The Miami Herald has produced an in-depth investigation into the machinations and corruption of the Bal Harbour police department's contribution to the war on drugs.
A few years ago, Bal Harbour police were asked to return $4.1 million because their abuse of civil forfeiture law was so off-the-charts outrageous.
The Department of Justice sent a letter to the police chief and mayor, warning them that federal criminal prosecution could be the result of the federal investigation that found that Bal Harbour Police misused millions of dollars seized in drug and money laundering investigations. The letter mentions "numerous instances" in which the department broke the rules that govern how agencies are supposed to use money shared in joint operations.
That was a light touch, to say the least. These guys down in South Florida are
straight up gangsters.
Officers enjoyed $1,000 dinners at restaurants in the Miami area, and spent $116,000 on airfare and first-class flights and nearly $60,000 for hotel accommodations, including stays at the Bellagio and the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and El San Juan Resort & Casino in Puerto Rico. Police also spent over $100,000 on iPads, computers, laptops and other electronics, bought a new Jeep Grand Cherokee for $42,012 and even purchased $25,000 worth of weaponry, including FN P90 submachine guns. (Bal Harbour, a seaside village of 2,500 residents known for having the nation’s top sales-generating mall, reported just one violent crime in 2012.)
Can't a guy wet his beak without the Fed coming down on him? Sheesh! Don't worry, the Bal Harbour police got their own auditors to look into things and everything looked just fine. Must have been a huge misunderstanding. Unfortunately, Bal Harbour leaders hired their own auditors. Over three years Bal Harbour's
sting conducted 332
deals laundering criminal money. I'm sure a ton of guys got arrested during this
sting, right? Like, anyone?
Scapegoat, lower-level guys maybe?
“They keep talking about this sting. They stung no one,” said Michael McDonald, a former Internal Revenue Service criminal agent who took part in Operation Greenback, one of the most famous laundering task forces ever created. “Their intent was not to arrest or prosecute. It was a gravy train for these guys.”
Bal Harbour police in 2012 created a report that said the tips they passed on to agents in Chicago led to 43 arrests from 2010 through 2012. However, Rusty Payne, a DEA spokesman, told the Herald in June that his agency could not verify the arrest numbers traced to the Tri-County Task Force. Bal Harbour police did not track any of the arrests through court.
Throw away the key.