Originally Posted By: eljefino
They always say a boat is a hole in the water you pour money into. The previous owners were just doing it wrong!
I they're the ones who ended up in a hole.
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
I must be corupt. I would have not said a word about the boat money. Bought the boat and contents.
I've seen enough examples of people getting screwed up because questions come up about money that mysteriously appears in their lives. I didn't want the drama.
Originally Posted By: pottymouth
I'm betting that a booze smuggler would have rather seen that money go to just about anyone other than the government. If the guy had no family to speak of (and I'm not talking about the long lost nephew he never met) I can't see the moral dilemma in you taking some of a dead man's firewood and the cash if you found it. If you had found the money and had a clear way to determine the proper owner, that would be one thing. To trust the government to do so? Not a chance. Just think about the ways the state would waste it.
The boat? That money belonged to you as soon as you took title to the boat. Just like any termites or black mold that mught have been on board.
It was more about not ending up in trouble over the mysterious cash infusion in my life, and being able to use whatever was left openly. At the end of the day, I appreciated being able to use the money that was left openly more than I would have the total amount clandestinely, or trying some sort of money laundering. I have no regrets over the situation. The only 2 government agencies that could have given me nightmares over it both cleared the remainder as legally 100% mine to do with what I wished.
In the end, I was able to utilize and invest it in better ways that negated the loss the G-Men took.
Originally Posted By: expat
Strange that the Feds ask you??
I think I might have said "Well, I'd rather keep it all" "If that''s OK with you"
But I think I might have got rid of the boat also. You never know who you might bump into!
It was a fight I had no desire, motivation, or money to win. It's a common law enforcement practice to allow a person to keep undocumented cash if they surrender a percentage.
Originally Posted By: wtd
I wouldn't have let the DEA keep any of the money. I have a friend who works for the DEA and the amount of money they find and get to keep from Drug dealers is crazy. Not to mention property and vehicles.
I guess though they could have kept it all and not contacted you at all. I'm with some of the other guys, I'm not sure I would have turned it in at all since you legally bought the boat and it's contents.
Wayne
It's a major gray area. Yes, it was my property, but still cash with no documentation of transaction of the cash itself. The provenance concerned me more. What if it turned out to be something from someone known to law enforcement? Then I'm having people walk in and seize all of my property as proceeds from cash of a criminal transaction committed by someone else.
I took a knee for sure, but maybe a good time to do it.