Arrest-Proof Yourself Read Free Page A

are big crooks who operate traditional criminal enterprises such as drug distribution, illegal gambling, loan-sharking, protection rackets, labor union racketeering, etc. These guys are on the police radars but can go for years without being arrested. The reason is simple. Arresting organized crime figures is easy; prosecuting them is not. It requires interagency task forces, wiretaps, 24/7 surveillance, and gobs of government money. The bad guys have the best attorneys money can buy. Worse, they’re often connected with politicians and judges who can protect them. When it comes to organized crime, the big heat often turns into the big stink.
    Here’s an example. In Miami, during the last 15 years, the FBI arrested and obtained convictions of
the Miami city manager
the Miami finance director
the Miami chief of police
numerous judges
various city and county commissioners
numerous police officers
     
    These goons were stealing with both hands, running interference for the cartels, escorting drug trucks from the Miami River to warehouses in the city, and selling favorable judgments from the bench. Notice, however, that almost all the investigations and arrests were made by the FBI, not local police. The state’s attorney (prosecutor), an elected official, seemed not to notice, amid a busy schedule of luncheons, speeches, and fund-raisers, that the city was being run by a bunch of hoods.
    The other group of big crooks, middle-class criminals, are notoriously not on police radars. They run little risk and garner great rewards. FBI statistics show that white-collar crime is booming. Yes, you can steal more with a briefcase than a gun, and insurance fraud, mortgage fraud, identity theft, securities fraud, and confidence rackets such as pigeon drops and bad checks probably gross as much as the trade in illegal drugs. Of course, no one knows for sure, because most of these guys get away with it. I’ll discuss this further in the chapter on how to arrest more white people.
    The middle group of crooks are career criminals. You can define these guys easily. They make their living in crime. It’s what they do, but not forever. Police glom on to these guys sooner or later. Most are arrested, tried, and convicted multiple times and serve long stretches in jail. At some point, usually in their 30s, they give it up and decide that flipping burgers or pushing the broom is better than trying to make a career in crime, or else they go to prison and become permanent wards of the state.
    Now gaze at the bottom of the pyramid. Notice that it’s huge. It’s the base that holds up the entire criminal justice system. It’s composed of clueless petty offenders. These poor slobs can be distinguished from other criminals by two crucial characteristics.
1. They don’t make their living in criminal enterprise. Rarely do they make any money at all from what they do. They’re rule breakers, not money takers. Their lives are a series of infractions, violations, and failures to comply with ordinances, statutes, and rules. They pay dearly for it. The bail bonds, attorney fees, court costs, and probation costs that the system extracts keep them and their families perpetually impoverished.
2. They are rarely violent. Mostly, they’re just clueless.
     

WHY ARE ALL THESE GUYS IN JAIL?
     
    Nobody ever thinks about this. You get caught with a joint, and you go to the joint. Right? Let’s consider this for a minute. Why should petty offenders get arrested and jailed at all ? Let’s examine the typical reasons.
    FLIGHT RISK. Most people think that petty offenders are jailed so they will show up for trial. This is rarely the case. Most misdemeanor offenders are tossed into the can briefly and then released either on their own recognizance 1 or on a low bail to free up the cells for the next batch of clueless who are rolling downtown 24/7 in a police cruiser near you. Most of these guys have to show up for their hearings of their own volition, so it’s