Posted on 11/18/2003 4:23:09 PM PST by scarface367
Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh may have violated state money-laundering laws in the way he handled the money he used to buy the prescription drugs to which he was addicted, law enforcement officials in Florida and New York told ABCNEWS.
A conviction on such charges in Florida would be a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Limbaugh returned to the airwaves this week after five weeks of rehabilitation for his admitted addiction to prescription painkillers.
His lawyer denied today there was any foundation for a money-laundering prosecution.
"There's no basis for these charges. He has not committed any acts of money laundering and he absolutely denies it," lawyer Roy Black told ABCNEWS. "I can assure you — and Rush assures the listeners to his radio station — when we can, we will tell the story, and he will tell it himself. Everybody will see what has really gone on here."
Limbaugh makes an estimated $35 million a year and had no shortage of legally earned money to the buy the painkillers to which he became addicted.
Authorities say they became aware two years ago, during an investigation of New York bank US Trust, that Limbaugh had taken between 30 and 40 cash withdrawals from his account in amounts just under $10,000.
Banks must file a report to the government if someone withdraws more than $10,000 at once.
Limbaugh's lawyers confirm that as part of US Trust's service, a bank employee personally delivered cash to Limbaugh at his New York studio in amounts of $9,900 or so.
"That in itself is a suspicious activity: They are structuring their transaction to avoid reporting to the government, and the bank is required to file with the federal government something called a suspicious activity report," said Jack Blum, an expert on financial crimes.
Limbaugh's lawyers say it was US Trust that suggested the arrangement. In July 2001 the bank paid a $10 million fine because of the Limbaugh transactions and many others like it.
Limbaugh's name was not made public at the time but officials told ABCNEWS details were forwarded to state and federal investigators in Florida.
"Now the problem will be: Did he then assist his drug supplier in hiding the proceeds from the government?" said Blum.
Limbaugh's lawyers say he did not do that and that he is being falsely accused by those who want to force him off the air.
Officials say a decision on whether to prosecute on money-laundering charges will be made in the next few weeks.
I reckon that I'm pretty much safe - I can't go over $10K without tripping the "overdrawn" flag! Repeated withdrawals of something close to $10K are out of the question. But I think that the libs still call me "wealthy".
Depends on how much of a hard-on the 'authorities' have for you.
Unfortunately, Shermy is dead right. I like Rush and would be the last to want him convicted of an idiotic conoction like this, but the fact remains that since you drug warriors decided to make "money laundering" of exactly this type an illegal activity, you're going to have to bend over and kiss the jackboots of any pissant prosecutor who decides to pad his budget by stealing Rush's earnings.
Federal law requires that money transfers of $10,000 or more be reported as suspicious activity. What they're trying to pin on Limbaugh is something they call "structuring", or making transactions of less than $10K ythat are intended to evade the $10K limit. That's right - it's illegal to transfer $10K or over at a time, and it can also be illegal to transfer less tha that amount if they decide that it's lucrative to make an issue of it.
I hope the JBT's try to nail Rush with this. I want to see his whole fan base rise up against confiscation without due process.
It's not the contents, it's what the act was SOLD for, FRAUDULENTLY.
And if all that happens exactly as you state, there will still be an abrupt cleavage among his fans between those who therefore oppose the WOD and those who believe the drug laws are right but the 'asset forfeiture' provisions are constitutionally repugnant.
For many years there has been a 10,000 withdrawal threshold for reporting the transaction to the federal government.
OH POOR BABY.
You're not three years old any more (neither were the congress critters) and ALL of them KNEW that a LOT of the present rules and laws were being tightened up -
- NO SYMPATHY FROM THESE QUARTERS. LIVE WITH IT.
On the other hand, if one systematically withdraws $9500 periodically to cover normal expenses, that would be a legal activity. There is no law that says that one cannot pay their studio rent with cash. I beleive that it all depends on "intent".
It's a shame, but if this story is true it's big trouble, because it now becomes a federal case. The feds are very serious about currency transactions, and this is something that predates the Patriot Act by at least 5 years.
And it may become a federal investigation case, but that does not mean guilt. I withdraw about $600 per month to buy groceries and odds and ends but I don't have the tastes and expenses that Rush has. I would expect his daily expenses to exceed mine by a great margin, particularly in his line of work.
I agree. I find myself again defending him, and I am very suspicious of the "alphabet-soup" media. Their credibility is even lower than that of the Nation Enquirer. Yet, if it is true, there's going to be some serious trouble for Rush. Or, perhaps, some thoughtful reconsideration of some of our more oppressive laws (which would be my more favored outcome).
The truth on this will come out. If it is B.S., it'll get thrown back in the faces of the scum who stirred it up and reflect badly on them.
If it is true, if Rush Limbaugh violated the law and committed crimes ... I do not say this gladly, I do not say this with relish, I say it with the utmost sadness, but the enormous amount of good he's done for our movement in the last 15 years and the fact that he has an illness should not excuse him from having to face the consequences of his actions. And I fear that those consequences won't just include jail time, they could include him being thrown over the side by a lot of people in our movement, maybe not the little folks who'll always love him but he'd be persona non grata with the Beltway types and the people actually in government.
I'll say here the same thing I said when the drug stories came out, and everyone was yelling that it was all B.S. and made up stuff by the Enquirer ... hope that the stories aren't true, pray that the stories aren't true, but do not get so far out on a limb with the things we say and the comments we make to the point that if this does turn out to be true, our knee-jerk reactions can be used against us by our adversaries.
Just like speed limits. If you always stay under the posted limit, you can be pulled over for driving "suspiciously".
In the way that in the Bible, Adam "KNEW" Eve, David "KNEW" Bathsheba, and so on.
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