Entries by Sebastian Rucci

Police, Prosecutors Use Asset Forfeitures to Lease SUVs, Customize Motorcycles, Install WiFi at Home, and More

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Craig Stedman spent more than $21,000 of drug forfeiture money to lease a 2016 Toyota Highlander. After Stedman was ordered to release records of hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional expenditures from “drug-related” forfeitures, he appealed to the Court of Common Pleas, arguing those records were shielded from public […]

California Losing Millions in Civil Asset Forfeiture Funds as Law Aims to Curb Police Abuse

For decades, federal asset forfeiture revenue in California soared from the sale of seized properties. Police used federal law to seize everything from boats to vehicles to homes, thereby circumventing California laws. Opponents call it “policing for profit” or “theft by cop.” Consider that in 2015 law enforcement operations in California grew the Federal Asset […]