Faces of the Drug War: Woman Carrying $47K in Bra at Airport Sues

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Faces of the Drug War: Woman Carrying $47K in Bra at Airport Sues
Woman Carrying $47K in Bra at Airport Sues

Thu Jun 23, 4:48 PM ET

BOSTON - A Quincy woman who apparently stuffed $46,950 in cash in her bra before trying to board a plane to Texas for plastic surgery has sued a federal agency, demanding the return of her money.

The money was seized from Ileana Valdez, 26, after a security check at a metal detector at Logan International Airport on Feb. 3. Valdez told authorities she was heading to Texas for plastic surgery on her buttocks and breasts.

"I don't know why she was carrying it (the cash) in her bra," said Boston lawyer Tony V. Blaize, who filed the suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Boston on behalf of Valdez.

In her suit, Valdez said a male Drug Enforcement Administration agent told her she had a nice body and didn't need surgery — and then seized the cash, claiming it was drug money.

Valdez, a single mother said in her suit that she has no criminal record and earned the money by selling her Dorchester business and two parcels of property in Boston's Jamaica Plain section.

Anthony Pettigrew, a spokesman for the DEA in Boston, said he could not comment on the lawsuit. But he said federal asset forfeiture laws allow agents to seize suspected drug

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/06/23/national/a134858D18.DTL
 
Some pictures of the suspect would be helpful .............
 
Yeah, I read this story yesterday in the Globe. A Dominican with money?!?!, must be a drug dealer. It's amazing that the feds have the ability to do this without any PC. She said she withdrew the money from the bank to protect from creditors, hopefully her financial records are on point, and she'll win a big enough judgement for a full body lift. :)
 
I don't care if they were 99% sure

it was drug money, *** happened to innocent until proven guilty in this country???
Damn Republicrats!
CT
 
Note also that

she broke NO LAW!

She was on a wholly domestic flight and, therefore, was under NO OBLIGATION to declare the funds.

Another example of the wholesale trampling of Constitutional rights under the mendacious assertion of "public safety." :barf:
 
Good thing she wasn't a 1960's-vintage Women's Libber - burning that bra would have been a very expensive proposition... talk about hot money!

:D
 
...Valdez told authorities she was heading to Texas for plastic surgery on her buttocks and breasts.

"I don't know why she was carrying it (the cash) in her bra," said Boston lawyer Tony V. Blaize, who filed the suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Boston on behalf of Valdez.
Click to expand...

I'd think it would be perfectly obvious why she carried the cash in her bra. :scrutiny:
 
I now wonder if a Bra, in the open is now probable cause to search a vehicle or person?
Click to expand...
Don't even have to be in the open. Just a visibly large bust. Bust, get it?

It's really not funny.

Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Click to expand...
Chalk it up.
 
There are so many things screwed up with this story, starting with $50,000 in her bra. And selling her business for breast implants :scrutiny:

But I don't see anywhere where taht justified confiscating her money :banghead:
 
absolutely insane. she may be in some hot water over carrying that much cash, but to basically convict her as a drug dealer sight unseen?
ARGH! this is terrible. however, i think the article is probably leaving out some details- like she may at least have the possibility of getting her money back if she can prove it came form legal sources- and if she cant, well, thats why yer not allowed to carry huge amounts of cash around. i know kinda weak logic, but not entirely bad.
most people who legitmately earned that kind of money wold be able to show tax forms or something to show how they got it.

i would feel a lot better about this if they sadi she was illegally transporting cash. calling her a drug dealer is definitely over the top guilty without trial, and taking her money convicts her.
even though i would bet 70% chance it IS drug money, this is america. proof is essential
 
I'd like to get more details on this story. Nevertheless, this whole business of "carrying cash = evil intentions" galls me to no end. Whatever happened to being able to stuff your mattress (or bra) with money instead of putting it in the bank?
 
Single mother...Who wouldn't want their mom selling the business so she could get new boobs and a new butt. As weird/funny as this is, I don't see anything illegal. More fodder for comedians and late-night talk-shows.
 
The story didn't mention what her businesses were. Coffee shops I'm guessing.
Biker
 
Funny, around here we actually have to PROVE it is drug money before we get to take it. Darn state law!

As for carrying in her bra, it kind of makes sense. No pickpocket is going there, it isn't going to run away with her purse when it gets snatched, and if she's going to Texas to get them made bigger anyways...
 
statutes

i dont know why people are always so suprised by this-
http://www.irs.gov/compliance/enforcement/article/0,,id=113004,00.html

little pieces of garbage like this make it possible for you to be jacked over having cash on you=
Additionally, IRC, Section 6050 I, requires anyone involved in a trade or business, except financial institutions, to report currency received for goods or services in excess of $10,000 on a Form 8300. This requirement has created a significant impediment to the use of illicit profits by narcotics traffickers and others engaged in illegal activity for the purchase of luxury items such as vehicles, jewelry and boats. Financial institutions report similar information on a Currency Transaction Report.
 
$47k is a big chunk of change, literally. Even if it were mostly C-notes, it would have enough volume that I’m sure that it would print though her shirt. I am sure that the screeners are trained to watch for odd lumps (non-metallic bomb anyone), and would want to know what she was hiding under her shirt.

What I can’t figure out is how DEA got involved. What kind of a moron would smuggle drugs TO Texas? I’m not an expert, but I hear that the border is pretty porous and can infer that drugs produced in S. America should be cheaper and more available…
The cash appears to have been seized via a civil forfeiture rather than a criminal one, so there is no requirement that she be found guilty or even charged. :cuss:
The whole thing makes me ill, but you can read more about it www.fear.com or google “civil forfeiture”. :barf:
 
and if she cant, well, thats why yer not allowed to carry huge amounts of cash around. i know kinda weak logic, but not entirely bad.
Click to expand...

You're joking, right? First of all, the statute you cited doesn't apply in this case.

Title 31 USC Section 5332 –Also as a result of the USA Patriot Act was the passage of Title 31 USC 5332, Bulk Cash Statute. Criminal Investigation has jurisdiction to investigate violations of this statute. This affects anyone who transports or attempts to transport currency or other monetary instruments of more than $10,000, from a place within the United States to a place outside of the United States, or from a place outside the United States to a place within the United States, and knowingly conceals it with the intent to evade the reporting requirements of 31 USC 5316.
Click to expand...

It was an internal domestic flight she was on.
2nd, I'm unaware of any law which forbids the carrying of cash in large amounts.
Finally, even if such a law does exist, how can you say it's a good idea?
not entirely bad
Click to expand...
How so? I'm really not following your logic here.

I hope this woman wins a settlement big enough to buy 12 sets of implants.
 
Anyone rember the case where an older Kansas City woman got a DEA auction VW and had fuel delivery problems with it, only for her mechanic to find $80K in the gas tank and call the BATF, DEA, etc? I believe they took the money and never gave it back. The woman sued, but they still were trying to only give back only a fraction of the cash, despite the woman buying the car at auction from the Feds.

I don't give this woman much chance of getting her entire $47K back and certainly not w/o spending it all on a lawyer.
 
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/06/23/woman_stopped_at_logan_with_46950_sues_dea/

In her suit, Valdez says she earned the money from selling a Dorchester multi-service business and two parcels of property in Jamaica Plain. She said she withdrew all of her money from the bank to prevent creditors from getting the cash.
Click to expand...

If she withdrew it from the bank than the bank would have had to do the paperwork. The one time I had to withdraw such a large amount of cash, the teller complained about the paperwork and asked if I'd make two seperate withdrawerals. I kindly told her that I wasn't interested in having any JBT IRS types showing up at my door and that she'd have to do her job after all.
 
"We have laws against drugs, so we can take your money"

"We have laws against terrorism, so we can take you guns"

"We want to provide for 'economic growth', so we can take your house"

"It's all in the public good. It's our job. And after all, we have laws............"

:mad: :fire: :cuss: :barf:
 
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