Structuring a Proper Punishment: The Dirty Denny Hastert Saga Continues

27 Wednesday Apr 2016

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

Tags

child abuse, children, crime, Denny Hastert, government, law, Natural Law, Sin, Structuring

Bertolt Brecht, German poet, and Anacharsis the Scythian long before, said that (pardon my approximation) laws are like spider’s webs; they ensnare small, unwary things while larger things break through with ease. It is commentary on inequality of equal protection and application and seems a near, if imperfect, iron law of jurisprudence.

However, sometimes a larger thing, weakened by age or sin – even the old, fat spider himself – falls victim to his own weaving.

Last spring I devoted more than a few articles to the life and sordid times of former Speaker of the House Denny Hastert. It seems that, like more than a few politicians, Hastert at one time favored the illicit company of young boys. Today I find the foul beswiker back in the news.

Rick McKee, Augusta Chronicle.

As you may recall Hastert was once a high school wrestling coach who engaged in “misconduct” with at least four of his underage male charges. Years later the coach and some of his victims reached an agreement whereby he would pay them restitution by way of hush money. Not wanting to draw attention to his affairs Hastert assembled the money via small withdrawals – thereby violating the Imperial criminal laws against “structuring”.

The former Speaker and lecherous leech now faces prison time. “Former speaker Dennis Hastert will learn on Wednesday [today] whether his stunning fall from grace will also include prison time for bank fraud that he committed as part of an effort to cover up an accusation of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy.” USA Today, April 27, 2016.

Again, I must note that Hastert is in trouble not for abusing children but for abusing arbitrary banking laws imposed by a corrupt government. That government cares little to nothing for childhood innocence; it’s concentration is ever on protecting criminal bankers and on preserving its own power. Bank fraud, they’re calling it. The real fraud is in the banking system and the government that protects the banks. In other words, the state simply isn’t worth maintaining.

A great irony in this story is that Hastert himself once championed some of the very laws he is now accused of violating. The structuring laws were allegedly enacted to make life and operations more difficult for drug dealers and terrorists. As usual the original or stated intent was immediately expanded so as to probe the private actions of anyone and everyone.

Undoubtedly Hastert deserves prison time or worse but not for imagined banking irregularities. That he has been caught in his own web is fitting. He has suffered in other ways since his indictment.

After decades of silence, his real crimes have come to light. He has been unable to finish his payments under the hush agreements and has been sued by his victims for breach of contract. He supposedly suffered a stroke – and not the kind of stroke with which this filth was once accustomed. Perhaps worst of all, Denny has witnessed the changing times. Had he waited a few years or just been born later in time, his actions would have been permissable to a large segment of the population. Without fear of payments or prison he could have carried on his “lifestyle” in the comfort of a Target restroom.

Denny’s now adult victims, some of them, will have the opportunity long denied to testify today in federal court. The prosecution needs their statements to round out the details of the structured payment violations. One would hope the underlying details behind those payments will serve as aggravating circumstances and consideration for sentencing. Otherwise, the judge will be directed by sentencing guidelines concerning the relative harmlessness of the Speaker’s fraud and his status as a first offender with no other record. A wrist slap may be in order. Today will tell.

At any rate, there is still time for Hastert to repent if he hasn’t done so already. Thereby he may avoid real punishment worse than the millstone. As much as I ridicule him, I hope this is the case. By divine authority and Natural Law, individual sins may be forgiven; government malfeasance perhaps not.

Despicable Denny Proves a Point (Several in Fact)

31 Sunday May 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

America, banks, children, Congress, crime, Denny Hastert, Diebold, elections, evil, FBI, Federal government, felony, freedom, Geneva Convention, George Bush, government, House of Representatives, illegal, Illinois, immoral, Jesse Ventura, Jesus, law, Matthew 18:6, money, politicians, rape, Republicans, Structuring, Texas, The People, Tom DeLay, voting

Warning: the subject matter de jure is downright sickening. The other day I stated that I really hate politicians. If you’ve ever met or smelled one, then you understand.

News came last week of the indictment of yet another filthy, criminal pol. It was spun in rather drab fashion I think. People are so used to this sort of thing it’s not really news anymore. Yet, and still, the people clamor for their “representatives” whenever an election comes to town. That’s proven point number one – the public is composed of voting idiots.

Dennis “Denny” Hastert was a Republican Congress-criter from Illinois. He served as the 59th Speaker of the House from 1999 until 2007. This coincided, largely, with the reign of Jorge Bush, the Dimmer.

You may recall how Hastert helped Bush double the national debt while creating new cabinet agencies and several undeclared wars – conservative stuff. Proven point number two – politicians of any party and their governments are a band of criminals and the scourge of civilization. Denny’s House Whip (the following story lends new and lurid speculation as to this term) was Tom DeLay. DeLay narrowly avoided a felony conviction and prison for election violations in Texas. Hastert now faces felony charges of his own from the federal government.

Remember my piece on “Structuring?” No? Read it again for good measure.

Cash transactions in excess of $10,000 are automatically flagged by banks and referred to the FBI for investigation. No crime needs be committed. Just withdrawing your own money for any reason is suspicious enough for the ever-nosey feds to examine. One would think they’d be busy fighting terrorists or child rapists or something.

Anyway, it is also illegal to split cash deposits or withdrawals into smaller increments so as to evade the reporting process. It seems criminal intent is in the Eye of Sauron of the government beholder. Consult the U.S. Code – 31 U.S.C. 5324 – for specifics on this idiotic law.

Dear Denny has been charged with structuring his cash withdrawals. Some time ago he began to withdraw $50,000 at a time from his bank accounts. Five times the “legal” limit, these transactions were automatically flagged. The bank or the cops must have informed Denny because he began to make withdrawals (lots of them) at just under the $10,000 limit. Denny withdrew several million dollars in such fashion.

These lesser withdrawals were noted by the bank. Concerned Denny was being blackmailed or something, the bank reported the new, lower withdrawals to the Empire. While any cash transaction over $10,000 must be automatically reported any amount the bank deems suspicious can be reported on a “STR” or suspicious transactions report.

Let’s be clear for a second. Your money is your money. You have the right to do whatever you want with it and in any amount or combinations of amounts. It is your damned property. Or you should have the right. The government and “your” bank are infringing your rights. Thus, poor Denny is a victim of this Draconian, illegitimate law. Point number three – federal banking laws exist to control and hurt people.

Denny is also charged with lying to federal officials. This proves another point of mine – do not talk to any officers or agents of any police force – ever. If you’re not talking, you’re not lying. Point four – do not talk to the cops.

It turns out Denny had a rather pressing reason to move his funds around as he did. Before Denny descended into the cesspool of Washington he was a fat teacher and wrestling coach at a high school in a small Illinois town. Either from a deranged mind or a strategic training regimen for his future political career Denny began to sexually molest one (or more) of his underage male charges.

I have not researched the specifics of these allegations and I do not plan to. I will assume they were lecherous, debased acts of the Jerry Sandusky variety. It is technically possible Denny is innocent in this matter (the sex matter). It is also technically possible a black hole will materialize overnight and swallow the sun, thus bringing a tomorrow without dawn. The odds of both are roughly equal though weighted in favor of the astronomical anomaly. Denny obtained the cash in order to pay off his would be accuser(s). Child molestation or rape charges don’t help a grafting political career and may cause inconvenient jail time.

I imagine these boys (or boy) were younger and smaller than most. Predators seek out the weaker members of the herd for attack. In any event they were young men, children, in need of molding and guidance. Instead, they suffered physical trauma and psychological damage no-one, especially a child, should ever experience.

Men (and women) who molest children should be disposed of in the most brutal manner conceivable. Hastert, Sandusky, Michael Jackson, that lowlife down the block – not one of them contributes to society and each is a unacceptible danger. Hang them from the highest trees. This is point five: “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6 (KJV)(mind you, Jesus says this tortuous execution would be better than what awaits the degenerate in Hell).

(Cash, rape and politics. Ready the millstone. Chicago Tribune.)

One would think the government would be more interested in prosecuting child rape than imagined financial irregularities. One would be wrong in America. Jesse Ventura once noted the excellent point that people under the age of 21 are treated as children in America, forbidden to drink alcohol by the government. The same government sends people under 21 off to war to die in jungles and deserts. Thus, the U.S. government sends children to war. This is a war crime under the Geneva Convention.

Sad, but true, in America the government cares more amount money and systemic process than about protecting innocent children. Given enough time to metastasize all governments eventually behave with such disregard for morality. This brings up point number six – government is utterly useless and extraordinarily dangerous. Tell that to the Diebold voting machine next time you are asked to sanction the system.

It’s Your Money, They Want It Now

04 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

banking, civil forfeiture, Congress, Constitution, Courts, crime, executive order, government, immigration, IRS, jail, law, Lincoln, money, Obama, robbers, Structuring, Supreme Court, taxes, theft

If you are unfortunate enough to view television these days undoubtedly you have seen a J.G. Wentworth commercial. They feature a variety of folks (opera singers, bus drivers, etc.) singing about the virtues of cashing in on structured settlements. They’re kind of catchy.

(Your money’s in the bank – go to jail noooow! Google Images.)

The federal gubmint has a similar scheme to cash in on your settlements. They call it “structuring” too! I wrote about the program several years ago. It is illegal to split cash deposits (your money mind you) so as to evade the banks’ legally mandated cash reporting process. Why the government needs to know how much money you deposit or that you deposit it, period, is beyond me. Something about fighting drugs and terrorists. Or was it drugged terrorists? Anyway, it’s all codified in 31 U.S.C. 5324.

Why split up the deposits? Beats me. That’s your business – or it should be. These days everything necessarily has to involve the government. Here are two examples of otherwise innocent splitting now criminalized by our kind friends in Washington:

“2. Jane needs $18,000 in cash to pay for supplies for her wood-carving business. Jane cashes a $9,000 personal check at a financial institution on a Monday, then cashes another $9,000 personal check at the financial institution the following day. Jane cashed the checks separately and structured the transactions in an attempt to evade the CTR reporting requirement.” CTR Pamphlet, www.fincen.gov.

“3. A married couple, John and Jane, sell a vehicle for $15,000 in cash. To evade the CTR reporting requirement, John and Jane structure their transactions using different accounts. John deposits $8,000 of that money into his and Jane’s joint account in the morning. Later that day, Jane deposits $1,500 into the joint account, and then $5,500 into her sister’s account, which is later transferred to John and Jane’s joint account.” CTR Pamphlet,www.fincen.gov.

Plain as can be. Jane and John are hardened criminals and need to spend time in jail. They will. Or, at least they will get probation and “forfeit” their money to the feds. So will Janet Malone of Dubuque, Iowa. Janet’s husband died and left her with the cash rewards of his gambling hobby. Janet decided the money would be better off in a bank rather than scattered around her house. She deposited some of it in a fashion which seemed reasonable to her. The IRS, always knowing better, objected.

With all the courtesy of starving termites they seized her money and have charged her with criminal structuring. She will probably enter some sort of guilty plea. Most people do. The IRS will likely keep her cash under civil forfeiture laws. There’s really nothing civil about it. Between 2005 and 2012 the IRS so seized about a quarter of a billion dollars in this fashion. It gave some of it back. Some. This is the same agency that now pays tax refunds to criminal illegal aliens who never paid taxes in the first place. Something smells on the Potomac.

Congress is incensed by this blatant theft from the people. They could just repeal the law or, better, abolish the IRS completely. They won’t. Instead they have convened a committee! It’s focus will center on stopping IRS abuse of small businesses. As an aside they may also examine the effects of Rearden Metal exposure on unicorns.

Know this: the government wants what you have. And, they’ll get it. They don’t even need a law to justify their thievery. The White house wants to raise taxes by executive decree. Abe Lincoln did this during the war between the States. The Supreme Court belatedly found this unconstitutional. Don’t hold your breath this time.

Do not look to Congress for any help. Remember the illegals? His Excellency, President Obama, has been using his pen to flout immigration laws. The brave Republican “opposition” collapsed faster than a jellyfish beneath a steam roller. This is the way it is.

As is, either keep your money to yourself or comply with the ridiculous law whilst banking. Otherwise, you’ll end up a poor inmate somewhere. It’s kind of like the old highwayman’s motto: “your money or your life.” Except these robbers write the law. Now you know.

Structuring, Are You Guilty?

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

31 U.S.C. 5324, Americans, attorneys, banks, Boston, crime, CTR, FBI, Federal government, forfeiture, Harvey Silverglate, money, selective prosecution, Structuring, The Smurfs!, Three Felonies a Day, U.S. Attorney

Boston attorney Harvey Sliverglate wrote an insightful book called Three Felonies A Day, http://www.amazon.com/Three-Felonies-Day-Target-Innocent/dp/1594035229, about how the average “law-abiding” American commits three “serious” offenses every day without realizing it. His point is one I have seen firsthand – the feds have thousands of laws, which criminalize everything imaginable, from which to choose to selectively prosecute anyone they want. They can always decline, but when they do target a citizen, that person is instantly in a world of pain.

Here’s an example of such a federal criminal law you didn’t know about and probably have committed. After law school, passing the bar exam, and practicing criminal law for years, I had never heard of it until one particular case (maybe I’m dumb…). The mere existence of the law and it’s application potential I find staggering.

I had a client charged with another crime who received a wrist-slap as punishment (more excellent lawyering, folks! [my deal to have his case completely dismissed fell through due to administrative technicalities]). The FBI had previously seized numerous items of his property including about $25,000 in cash from his house. The do that frequently and usually the items (especially money) are “forfeited” to the government. However, while this particular case proceeded through the system, they slowly returned almost all items to my client’s wife. Immediately after the final hearing an agent approached me about returning the cash! I was a little dumbfounded. They gave the money back that very day. I have still never seen or heard of this happening again.

Anyway, the client’s wife and I went to the local FBI office to retrieve the money. It was still in large bill form, exactly as removed from the house. Whatever I may say about them, the FBI is extremely efficient and organized. While the money was being counted out in our presence I told the wife she should immediately deposit it into her bank account for safety. Then I recalled that cash transactions in excess of $10,000 are automatically flagged by banks and refered to the FBI for investigation. As you know, all cash amounts over $10K are the result solely of criminal activity…

So, to help her avoid the hassle, I suggested she break the deposit into 3 installments. The agent in charge stopped counting, looked up, and said, “That’s Structuring.” I looked at him like a deer observing an approaching 18-wheeler and asked, “Huh?” He then explained how it was illegal to split cash deposits so as to evade the reporting process. He then kindly noted that if she deposited all the money (he thought it a good idea too) the report would come to him and he would have the system pre-flagged to ignore and dismiss the report. I know and trust this particular agent as an outstanding man of integrity so I had no problem trusting him. Things worked out fine.

As I was leaving he said he would have our friend at the U.S. Attorney’s office provide me information on the crime. By the time my friend called, I had already researched the law – 31 U.S.C. 5324. He directed me to a website which provided a pamphlet warning against the practice and giving examples of innocent enough transactions which are, in fact, illegal. He asked me to spread this information to all attorneys I know and all of my friends. Thus, I relay his story to you. By the way, the banking industry refers to this practice as “smurfing,” in honor of those little blue critters from the 80s…

(The Smurfs weapon of choice. Google Images.)

You can view the pamphlet here, http://www.fincen.gov/whatsnew/pdf/CTRPamphlet.pdf. They have one geared toward gambling winnings too, http://www.fincen.gov/whatsnew/pdf/CTR-CPamphlet.pdf.

Here are two examples of smurfing violations, taken from the first pamphlet:

Jane and John are hardened criminals who could be sentenced from one to five years in federal prison. Don’t be like Jane and John!

I can envision situations in which an attorney or am accountant, for example, might “structure” a client’s funds like this. While the attorney and his client might have innocent intentions, their acts would be criminal. I’m still trying to get this all straight in my head.

We know that keeping cash on hand is illegal as the cash can be stolen (“forfeited”) due to alleged involvement in criminal activity. All cash comes from crime! We also know depositing the money whole with a bank will be reported as a possible indication of crime. Depositing the money in batches is a crime.

I now take my friend’s friendly advice; I advise everyone that everything is illegal. Good luck out there!