|
Newsbrief:
Texas
Drug
Task
Force
Prosecutor
Plays
"Let's
Make
a
Deal"
With
Wealthy
Defendants
11/14/03
A former Texas drug task
force prosecutor has told the Dallas Morning News that he routinely offered
probation to big-time offenders "in exchange for cash, cars, motorcycles,
jewelry, and other property the task force needed to fund its operations."
Former Denton County prosecutor Denver McCarty, who tried cases brought
by the North Central Texas Narcotics Task Force, said he offered sweet
deals to at least a half-dozen major defendants, including a large cocaine
trafficker, a violent pimp, and a meth cook responsible for a half-million
dollars worth of crank.
According to McCarty, he
made the deals to ensure the continued operation of the task force.
"If we don't have enough money by the end of the grant year, we're all
out of a job," he said. "You kind of knew what kind of forfeiture
money you needed to have, or everybody's going home."
The drug task forces, which
have ravaged Texas for nearly two decades with scandals such as the infamous
1999 Tulia busts, are primarily funded by federal grants. But under
the terms of the state-federal agreement, the task forces are required
to supply part of their own budgets. According to the Morning News,
Denton County task force forfeitures have averaged about $150,000 a year
since 1997.
Denton County District Attorney
Bruce Isaacks denied that such deals take place and told the Morning News
he would have fired McCarty for making such deals. But he didn't.
-- END --
|
Issue #311, 11/14/03
DRCNet Interview: Larry Campbell, Mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
South Carolina: High School Drug Raid Sparks Incredulity, Outrage |
DRCNet Honchos Challenge DC with CD -- Borden and Guard Refuse to Report for Jury Service in Protest of Drug Laws |
Drug Policy Alliance 2003 Conference |
BUSTED: Special Video Offer for DRCNet Members |
Newsbrief: Canada Decriminalization Bill Dies Quiet Death |
Newsbrief: Bolivian Intellectuals Issue Call for Debate on Coca Law |
Newsbrief: FAMM Study Show States Embracing "Smart on Crime" Reforms |
Newsbrief: Illinois Targets Ecstasy, Speed on Campus |
Newsbrief: Texas Drug Task Force Prosecutor Plays "Let's Make a Deal" With Wealthy Defendants |
This Week in History |
DRCNet Temporarily Suspending Our Web-Based Write-to-Congress Service Due to Funding Shortfalls -- Your Help Can Bring It Back -- Keep Contacting Congress in the Meantime |
Perry Fund Accepting Applications for 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 School Years, Providing Scholarships for Students Losing Aid Because of Drug Convictions |
The Reformer's Calendar
|
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
Chronicle archives
|
PERMISSION to reprint or
redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet is hereby
granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and,
where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your
publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks
payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for
materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we
request notification for our records, including physical copies where
material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network,
P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202)
293-8344 (fax), e-mail [email protected]. Thank
you.
Articles of a purely
educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet
Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
|
