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How the Drug War Works
Via To the People and reader John B. Slattery comes this Oregon News-Register account of how the drug war operates: through crapola minions such as Marc Coven, "a career informant trailing a criminal record and a well-documented history of entrapment."
During a four-month sting operation, capped with a late-June sweep timed to coincide with a well-publicized Meth Summit, the Yamhill County Interagency Narcotics Team employed a career informant trailing a criminal record and a well-documented history of entrapment, the News-Register has learned.
Repeating a pitch polished over 32 years of paid informant work in Oregon, Washington and California, the 51-year-old Portlander dangled hope of high-paying construction and landscaping work. Those tactics stirred such controversy in the early 1980s that even the attorney general felt moved to condemn them, but he seems to have flown below the public radar ever since.
Following his script, investigation shows, undercover operative Marc "The Mole" Caven suggested it would help applicants' prospects if they could hook him up with a bit of methamphetamine or marijuana. And at least 46 of them succumbed to the pitch, landing them berths in the Yamhill County Jail.
The suspects include a 22-year-old McMinnville youth who finally came up with less than half an ounce of marijuana after reportedly being hounded by Caven on a daily basis for weeks. Pumping gas, the lure of construction work at $10.50 an hour got the better of him.
Now facing the Class A felony charge of delivery, pegging him as a dealer, he fears he will never get the financial aid to follow through on college plans. He said he's feeling "like my life is over."
A 19-year-old Amity youth was so excited about the job promised to him that he carried Caven's phony business card everywhere he went, called his big brother in California with the news and laid plans to buy some sturdy work boots. He's also facing a felony charge - one sharing Class A status with murder, rape and kidnapping.
Whole thing here.
|8.11.05 @ 11:23AM|#
This reminds me of the song "Forkboy" by Lard:
"Forkboy
Flies by night on stolen fuel
To Santa Rosa, CA
Opens a fake employment office
"Want a job? Go get me drugs"
People desperate for work
Return to quite a surprise
Busted for intent to sell
Cops pay him a bounty
Forkboy skips town"
Any idea who that song was about?
|8.11.05 @ 11:31AM|#
I am looking forward to those drug war tribunals that will one day (hopefully) bring justice to this sort of madness. There is no moral defense for some of these far reaching drug warriors who intend to inflict harm on the citizens.
|8.11.05 @ 11:31AM|#
Well, at least the defendants have laid the groundwork for an
exciting and (plainly) long-lasting new career: Informant!
Assuming, of course, they are >actual< criminals and thus
know something. If they are completely new to this, then plainly
they are ignorant and should go to prison for a long, long time. I
love our DAs!
Joe: Just a stab in the dark, but ... I think it's Forkboy.
|8.11.05 @ 11:33AM|#
Glad to see these dangerous people are off the streets, never
again to poison America's children. Everyone allways gets what they
deserve. Hopefully, they have learned their lesson about how wrong
it was what they did and will repay their debt to society.
He's also facing a felony charge - one sharing Class A status
with murder, rape and kidnapping.
Drug dealing is worse, those things affect individuals, whereas
drugs kill everyone.
J
|8.11.05 @ 11:33AM|#
sigh.
...actual criminals, and therefore have dirt to
spill. If they are simply first-time yahoos, they won't know
anything useful and thus should go to prison for a long, long time.
I love our DAs!
|8.11.05 @ 11:35AM|#
...actual criminals, and therefore have
dirt to spill. If they are simply first-time yahoos, they won't
know anything useful and thus should go to prison for a long, long
time. I love our DAs!
That's how justice works, get used to it.
|8.11.05 @ 11:46AM|#
As for these poor saps now sitting in jail, it sounds to me like
their only crime was being gullible enough to believe they could
secure better-paying jobs by providing this creep with drugs. How
that could have sounded like a good idea is beyond me.
Besides, everyone knows that such jobs are only obtained through a
series of blowjobs, and it so happens that currently I am accepting
applications. Call now; a promising future awaits you!
|8.11.05 @ 11:50AM|#
This guy has been doing this since '81 -- How is it no one has
retaliated ? I would thank that in so many years of doing this crap
someone would have a vindictive relative/friend who would make some
time to "talk" to this guy.
But I do admit, he must have had some gullible dupes. I mean "score
me some pot, and Ill give you a high paying job" ?? If the guy
really ran a construction company, Im sure he has his own damn
hookup.
|8.11.05 @ 12:00PM|#
I remember John Tierney catching hell becuase people felt a
column he wrote implied that drug cops are cowards for busting pain
doctors(the column simply said it was easier). Frankly, I don't see
what else you can call people who have badgered and coerced people
into commiting crimes so they can boost their arrest numbers. I
guess "predatory cocksuckers" will do, but it's not NYT friendly.
What's worse is that they believe they're heroes. It's everyone
else who are criminals just waiting to be found.
The purpose of law enforcement is to enforce the law, not trick
people into breaking the law, then bust them and have a parade.
|8.11.05 @ 12:10PM|#
Maybe somebody ought to offer the guy a job in mining - like deep exploratory mining, at the bottom of a shaft.
|8.11.05 @ 12:15PM|#
Earn $10.50/hour working construction! Send resume, photo, hours you will be home, and half-ounce of ditch weed to: Happy Dude, 742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield. Don't delay!
|8.11.05 @ 12:17PM|#
Frankly, I don't see what else you can call people who have
badgered and coerced people into commiting crimes so they can boost
their arrest numbers.
Exactly. The cops that took part in this are cowards. Someone needs
to say it. Doesn't even a single one of them have the courage to
stand up and refuse to participate in such outrageous and immoral
conduct? This kind of stuff is why I have so little respect for any
police anymore. After that story I'd say it has gone from very
little to virtually none. And what to say about this informant
character? Hey this is Oregon after all; where's Tanya Harding and
her goons when you need them?
I guess "predatory cocksuckers"
Except that it might be unfair to the real predatory
cocksuckers...
|8.11.05 @ 12:21PM|#
Does this The Mole put "Drug Informant" on his 1090? This is disgusting, and I say that as someone who only thinks pot should be legalized so that the "Legalize It!" people's heads explode.
|8.11.05 @ 12:31PM|#
Is Forkboy related to Spoon Man?
Yes, through his sister's marriage to Mack the Knife.
B.D.|8.11.05 @ 12:32PM|#
Explain to me how this sort of entrapment is any different than the common tactics used for prostitution busts (which I also think are crap).
|8.11.05 @ 12:46PM|#
Is this scumbag's name "Marc Caven" "Marc Craven" or "Marc Coven"? The linked article says "Caven" many times.
MP|8.11.05 @ 12:52PM|#
common tactics used for prostitution busts
You'll have to be more specific. If a cop is pretending to be a
prostitute, then as long as the john approaches the cop first, that
is not entrapment.
This gives a nice
brief overview of entrapment.
It seems clear to me that this is a blatant case of entrapment.
|8.11.05 @ 12:55PM|#
It seems clear to me that this is a blatant case of
entrapment.
And frickin' how, to mix idioms.
|8.11.05 @ 12:57PM|#
The purpose of law enforcement is to enforce the law, not
trick people into breaking the law, then bust them and have a
parade.
Pfff - where've you been?!
I wonder how this is any different from those people who inform on
their friends and family for speaking ill of the ruling party in
those *other* totalitarian countries.
Jeff|8.11.05 @ 1:10PM|#
Got to agree with Chicago Tom: how has this guy NOT ended up at
the end of an alley with two in the back of the head? If this guy
has been operating out of the same county for 32 years I cannot see
how even the most inept drug operation could not finger him. We
hear stories of parents attacking other parents and refs at
sporting events, yet no one went after this guy for putting their
child in jail thru such tactics?
And how many of the convicted have been released in those 32
years?
|8.11.05 @ 1:17PM|#
Got to agree with Chicago Tom: how has this guy NOT ended up
at the end of an alley with two in the back of the head?
It sounds like he doesn't cause any real trouble to your hardcore,
pipe-hitting type criminals, but instead makes a living entrapping
non-criminals, and maybe snagging the occasional wannabe
gangsta.
Still, I would happily spit on his grave if he were to accidentally
try to rat out a real bad guy, and get his ass capped for it.
|8.11.05 @ 1:17PM|#
If one of the applicants had supplied him with oregano, I wonder
if they would've been charged with misrepresentation of
goods.
Nah, probably would've just arranged for it to become pot.
|8.11.05 @ 1:18PM|#
There's a fairly obvious answer to why nobody killed him:
The people he "busted" aren't actually criminals.
The actual criminals, the sort who might be inclined to put bullets
in people's heads, aren't going into his office looking for
landscaping jobs.
|8.11.05 @ 1:24PM|#
Joe said : "The people he "busted" aren't actually
criminals."
Its true they weren't criminals, but many non-criminals have
exacted revenge for far less. Just like Jeff said about parents
losing it and go after opposing parents at kids sporting events and
whatnot. They weren't criminals either, but took up criminal
activity when uhmm...they reached a certain level of
frustration?.
In 32 years Im sure there must be at least one questionable
character that had "friends" who would be willing to put a beat
down on this fucker! I know if it was my kids future that was
jeapordized because of this crap I would at least consider some
sort of vigilante justice
|8.11.05 @ 1:27PM|#
joe,
I wonder how many people who have spent several years behind bars
would come out more hardened criminals than they would have been
otherwise. Yeah, we're really helping society there.
I'm not really disagreeing with you, joe, just extending.
|8.11.05 @ 1:35PM|#
It is interesting that after 32 years he's never either (1)
busted the wrong guy ("wrong" as in "the sort of guy who knows how
to get revenge") or (2) busted somebody who became so hardened by
prison that he was willing and able to get revenge.
My best guess? Hardened criminals (be they victims of his who
become hardened, or professionals that his victims might try to
hire) know better than to mess with this guy, because he's well
protected. He's a guy who's made himself indispensable to a lot of
people for a lot of years, and if something happens to him the cops
won't simply write it off as one more guy who spent too much time
in the underworld and paid the price.
You could ask why he's never been attacked by somebody who's so
outraged over his life being ruined (or a loved one's life being
ruined) that he doesn't care about consequences. Well, my guess is
that this guy lies low, makes a point of keeping his comings and
goings and addresses confidential, never sits with his back turned
to an open door, and just generally watches his back.
Not to mention that some people are just plain lucky. The Devil
watches over his own.
|8.11.05 @ 1:50PM|#
Indulging your resentments is luxury that most people can't
afford.
Also, I'd be willing to bet that most of his marks were compelled
to turn state's against their dealers, feel like they've barely
dodged a bullet, and don't want to get back in front of it.
Plus the "friends in high places" point from above.
|8.11.05 @ 1:51PM|#
While this guy is a scumbag of epic proportions, he's not the
one ruining these people's lives. The police depts that are hiring
him with full knowledge of his techniques, and then defending these
techniques afterward, bear the greater part of the blame.
All I can say is, if these guys get convicted, we can be sure that
jury nullification is dead and buried.
|8.11.05 @ 2:00PM|#
joe makes another good point: If most of his victims have turned state's evidence and testified against whoever sold them the stuff, then they probably got lighter sentences and come away feeling like they had a narrow escape and want to stay out of trouble. Of course, there will be a few who come away wanting revenge, but maybe they're too afraid of him. He's undoubtedly well protected.
|8.11.05 @ 3:14PM|#
The WoD is its own entrapment. (Sort of like that country music
hit: "I am my own grandpa.")
To the extent the WoD forces entrepreneurs onto street corners and
puts plenty of profit margin into their product.
|8.11.05 @ 3:15PM|#
"If most of his victims have turned state's evidence and
testified.."
That's the part I can't wrap my head around. If I'm a local drug
dealer. (And I dont mean the the little guy, but one of the big
time guys) this guy is a HUGE, HUGE liability to my work / profits
/ customer base. I would imagine that the dealer would have quite
the incentive to off this guy and make it look like an accident or
something. That would get rid of the threat and possibly deter
anyone else from choosing "informant" as an occupation.
The Mob had a way of dealing with rats, and I can't imagine that
drug dealers wouldn't employ a similar tactic. This guy was a
contractor with a criminal record himself. He had no legal standing
as a cop or anything to deter anyone from getting at him and I
doubt that too many communities (many of which, the story seems to
imply, have been outraged a number of times by these tactics) would
have shed much of a tear nor demanded the solving of this
crime.
Or maybe I'm overthinking this whole thing, and thoreaou is corrent
when he says "the devil watches over his own".
|8.11.05 @ 3:17PM|#
Clarification: By "contractor" my post above I meant a hired gun as far as setting up sting operations.
nmg|8.11.05 @ 3:30PM|#
During the tyrannical reign of Caligula, he often made up
capricious new laws with the sole intent of arresting those who
were in violation the next day. He would have the new law posted on
an unreadable sign atop a very high pole in front of the Senate,
then send out his goons to arrest anyone who happened to be eating
lefthanded, or whistling indoors on a tuesday or whatever.
Our country's drug laws seem to have a similar nature. Capricious
laws more designed to keep the law enforcers in business than
anything else.
Futhermore, Caligula would execute the "criminals" and seize all
their assets, which was the point of the entire excercise. Sounds
familiar...
nmg
* i.e. execute and sieze all of their assets
|8.11.05 @ 3:30PM|#
ChicagoTom-
My guess is that this guy is:
1) Lucky
2) Careful in his personal habits (sleep with one eye open, never
give away his home address, never attract attention to himself when
he walks down the street, etc.)
3) Protected from on high
4) Careful in his choice of targets
On that last point, I'd be interested in knowing who he brings
down. If he gets some formerly law-abiding citizen to testify
against the flunky selling stuff on the street corner, somebody
higher on the criminal food chain is no doubt annoyed. But is he
annoyed enough to risk taking down a guy who's protected? He can
always find a new flunky. (Maybe some guy who's just been released
from prison and can't find a job because his reputation was ruined
by an informant.) As long as this sleaze spreads out the misery,
never taking down too many flunkies working for the same guy, he
can probably get away with it.
As to #3, when I say protected, I don't mean that if something
happens to him the best cops on the force will mount a thorough and
professional investigation to make sure that the attacker is
brought to justice. I mean that they'll find the dirtiest cops on
the force and remove their leashes. If something happens to this
guy, I somehow doubt the culprit will enjoy much in the way of due
process.
And, as you agreed, the Devil looks after his own.
|8.11.05 @ 3:46PM|#
"this guy is a HUGE, HUGE liability to my work / profits /
customer base."
Why? The people he busted were, at most, consumers. The only people
they could turn in are the level of dealer who sell half ounces to
customers.
It's not as if drug users, or guys out hustling bags, are
particularly hard to come by.
|8.11.05 @ 4:02PM|#
Thoreau, ChicagoTom
Being a mj activist in the Pacific NW (PNW), I am of the opinion
that the violent mob element is either nonexistant or relatively
insignificant up here when it comes to the pot trade. If this guy
was to operate, say, in California for a lengthy chunk of those 30
odd years of being a snitch, he probably would have been dealt with
long ago. He certainly would have expired had he tried this in LA,
SD, or possibly even Oakland!
If you recall, ABC news with the late Peter Jennings had a special
called Pot of Gold. They came up with the stat the 1 in 5
households in certain parts of Portland and Seattle grow mj.
Therefore it is quite likely Caven is going after people related to
these small ops types. He apparently has a profile for whom he goes
after since he stops them and offers them a job. Someone in a
larger operation might not look like a kid in need of a job. In
fact, they probably laugh in his face at the thought of $10.50 an
hour for construction.
I have met a number of these small ops people and the majority of
them don't own any firearms nor has a violent bone in their body.
They are more likely to be peace loving types that appreciate a
finer quality herb, much like a typical beer home brewer, and thus
grow it for themselves and maybe a few friends and family. When
done wrong by Caven, they probably lay as low as possible and hope
his karma pays him for his crimes. They know that trying to
retaliate violently will more likely increase their own risk and
make matters worse.
I recall one guy who was a leader of many Olympia mj activists. He
was flashy and thumbed his nose at the cops while toking in public.
One day, the cops had enough and took him down. He rolled on many
of the local activists leading to several possession arrests and
worse for those that had small grow ops. He served no time. He is
still in the community, alive and well, but no one talks to him,
invites him to any functions, or want anything to do with him. Many
were wishful that he rolled on the wrong guy and got dealt with,
but that wasn't the case.
Just to be sure, I am not saying there is no violent mob
element in the PNW, I am just pointing out its insignificance
within the pot trade, contrary to what the drug warriors want us to
believe. I moved here from California and was immediately amazed at
how peaceful and respectable the pot community is in the PNW. Night
and day difference.
|8.11.05 @ 4:36PM|#
joe said "Why? The people he busted were, at most, consumers.
The only people they could turn in are the level of dealer who sell
half ounces to customers."
Joe I get what you are saying, but eventually the chain keeps
moving up. The guy who sells half ounces to customers buys from a
guy who sells pounds to customers, the guy who sells poundes buys
from someone. Each level someone is going flip on a bigger
fish.
Or do you think that the cops are going to just stop with the guy
who sells quarters and ounces and not try to flip him or find out
his supplier?
|8.11.05 @ 4:53PM|#
Or do you think that the cops are going to just stop with
the guy who sells quarters and ounces and not try to flip him or
find out his supplier?
I think it's a little more complicated than that. They can't just
bust a junkie who turns in a street seller who turns in his boss
who turns in his supplier who turns in a smuggler who turns in a
lieutenant who turns in a drug lord. If it worked that way then
every bust would set in motion a chain of events that would topple
a king-pin.
I imagine there's a number of reasons for this:
1) These guys are probably good at covering their trails, making it
tougher to prove anything. If an underling is arrested, I'd assume
that the bosses change their habits, lie low, and tell their money
launderers to take extra precautions.
2) Really good witness protection is expensive, and killing
relatives is cheap.
3) Moral Hazard: If every low-level employee of a criminal
organization has a get-out-of-jail-free-card, then what's the
disincentive to get involved? The cops have to save their
sweetheart deals for a handful of guys with really juicy stories.
Remember, the whole point of prohibition is to "send a message." If
you only arrest a handful of people and give everybody else a sweet
deal, no message is sent.
4) Gee, I wonder why the cops might not always go after the guys at
the top with enough money to bribe, blackmail, or kill anybody who
gets in their way. Anybody got a clue? I'm stumped here.
Jack William Bell|8.11.05 @ 5:11PM|#
It looks to me like the cops are using this scumbag, despite his
methods clearly being entrapment, for several reasons:
* When they report to 'on high' they are expected to deliver arrest
numbers, not convictions.
* A large percentage of these kids will get scared and rat out the
low-level dealer they bought from. One more arrest, even if not
another conviction.
* Any kid that hangs tough probably gets offered a 'drug court'
deal by the prosecutor's office and never actually does any time.
So not much in the way of actual costs involved. (Other than the
ruined lives because of the drug records, but who cares about
that?)
So there is no reason for the cops not to use such heinious
tactics; its a win-win for them. The only way to stop this is to
make the cost to the cops greater than the gain. Starting by making
them report only arrests leading to felony convictions. Add in a
nice juicy class-action lawsuit and you might even get
somewhere.
|8.11.05 @ 5:49PM|#
thoreau,
I agree with a lot that, but it seems to me that once you go after
the guy who sells the quarters, it wouldn't be hard to set up a
sting for his supplier. They wouldn't publicize the busts that
could potentially get them a bigger fish.
As for the disincentive to join theory, its not like they are just
gonna let everyone go. But we see reduced sentences for
co-operation all the time. Someone pleads to a lesser charge in
exchange for co-operation. You still get a
record/fine/jail/conviction time but you do less time and maybe
have your feolny dropped a class. Why would these cases be any
different?
Of course maybe Im just bitter that someone hasn't taken the
initiative and put this guy permanently out of business :)
|8.11.05 @ 7:57PM|#
Heh. I used to live pretty close to McMinville. In the early
1980s (at least) it was a shithole.
BTW, in my misspent youth I think I might have met this "Mole"
fellow.
|8.11.05 @ 9:46PM|#
gaius marius,
I'm eager to hear where the war on terror is taking us. I apologize
for not asking sooner.
Speed--especially speed-reading--is the eighth deadly sin.
Or was your question rhetorical? Whatever.
|8.11.05 @ 11:19PM|#
Ruthless,
Regarding where the war on terror is taking us related to war on
drugs, I heard this little gem a few weeks ago on NPR (a pedigree
that many will rightly attack but I found this piece exceptionally
well done).
www.thislife.org and find "The Arms Trader" (Episode 292)
It costs $13 to download. I am surprised the Reason staff has not
highlighted it here yet. What to you say, Nick? Can you spring for
it?
It's a long complicated story and there are no sypathetic
characters.
Basically, after 9/11 the FBI uses an ex-DEA informant (that the
DEA dropped because of his style!) to entrap an Indian Muslim
salesman into supplying a surface-to-air missile to a terrorist
contact in New Jersey. Not only is the terrorist buyer the U.S.
government but, after over a year of the suspect failing to produce
a single weapon, the government acts as his supplier as well. After
a long sting operation (hailed as a major success by the Justice
Dept), he is the only one facing charges because he is the only one
in this scenario who is not working for the feds.
|8.12.05 @ 10:24AM|#
"Gee, I wonder why the cops might not always go after the guys
at the top with enough money to bribe, blackmail, or kill anybody
who gets in their way. Anybody got a clue? I'm stumped here."
Especially since the cops working with this gentleman have such a
highly developed ethical sense.
|8.12.05 @ 12:36PM|#
The Mob had a way of dealing with rats, and I can't imagine
that drug dealers wouldn't employ a similar tactic.
And the drug war has made law enforcement get so bad that people
like me find ourselves thinking we'd be better off in a country run
by the freaking Mob that by our "elected" government (elected is in
quotes not as a jab at Bush, but because I, personally, never got a
chance to vote on the drug war or DEA). I'd rather pay half my
salary in "protection" money and be free from the threat of jail
than pay one-third of my salary in taxes and have the threat of
bullshit imprisonment hanging over me.
Also, as a former stripper I can honestly say that guys in the Mob
are more polite and respectful than guys who work for the TSA.
|8.12.05 @ 2:42PM|#
"I used to live pretty close to McMinville. In the early 1980s
(at least) it was a shithole."
Ehh? I do live nearby, and McMinnville is (and has been) a sleepy
rural farming town. Just the kind of place where you would find
poor teenagers desperate for a good job, and a chance to get
ahead.
Got something against little podunk farm towns?
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