Entrepreneur and musician James Tebeau, whose Camp Zoe concert venue was one of Shannon County, Missouri’s largest employers, has accepted a plea agreement in which he will forfeit his 350 acre property and serve a prison sentence for “maintaining a drug-involved premises.”
Tebeau played bass in an ensemble called the Schwag Band and hosted a number of concert events including the annual “Schwagstock” festival. The agreement stipulates that Tebeau neither participated in drug sales, nor did he profit from them. Yet he faces a prison term of two and a half years and the loss of his property.
According to the Feds, Tebeau’s crime was to permit the sale of marijuana, LSD and mushrooms, while instructing employees to evict people who sold heroin, cocaine, crack, meth, and nitrous oxide. However, the same can be said of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which abetted the sale of many controlled substances for four years following an August 2006 arrest of two people at the camp for selling hallucinogenic mushrooms. Over that four-year period, informants employed by the State Police conducted hundreds of undercover purchases, including many of the hard drugs Tebeau was seeking to ban from his premises.
The “Justice” Department’s press release (which was reproduced nearly verbatim by the few media outlets that covered the story) made a point of noting that Tebeau “was aware that the term `schwag’ was a slang term for low-grade marijuana and he purposely adopted that name for his music festivals and band.” If this is evidence of evil intent, the Feds should begin criminal proceedings against the Doobie Brothers and the management of any venue where that classic rock band performs.
At about 7:30 a.m. on November 1, 2010 – a few hours after the finale of the annual “Spookstock” music festival — a multi-jurisdictional task force invaded Camp Zoe. According to one eyewitness, “Every letter of the alphabet was represented…. There were people from the DEA, the IRS, the Highway Patrol, from Homeland Security, the local police and country Sheriff’s Office. There was a group from the Rolla Police Department, which is two counties away from here.”
One camp staffer was briefly stopped by police on nearby Highway 19 as he was driving his children to school. He was separated from his wife and children at the point of an M-16 rifle. The detainee was taken into the camp and briefly questioned before being released.
Camp Zoe was placed under lock-down while the raiders rummaged through every corner of the campground, intimidating staff and visitors and seizing personal items (including cash). As this was going on another federal contingent was dispatched to clean out the personal and business accounts of Jimmy Tebeau, the musician and entrepreneur who owns and operates the campground.
The Feds “just siphoned away all of his money, and then filed a civil asset forfeiture lawsuit seeking to seize his property,” protests attorney Dan Viets, who has volunteered to represent Tebeau. “This would mean that he wouldn’t have the money needed to fight the seizure in court.” The Feds clearly sought to confiscate Camp Zoe from the beginning, and they took exceptional care to guarantee that Tebeau couldn’t mount an effective defense of his property.
One indigestibly ironic aspect of this story is the fact that Tebeau’s case was heard in before a federal court in Cape Girardeau, Missouri before U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh. Judge Limbaugh’s famous cousin, GOP radio mouthpiece Rush Limbaugh, who was caught “doctor shopping” in service of an addiction to Oxycontin – a prescription painkiller described by one DEA official as stronger than heroin. Rather than going to prison, Limbaugh paid Palm Beach County $30,000 to defray the costs of the investigation and agreed to undergo 18 months of physician-assisted therapy.
Rush Limbaugh’s net worth is estimated to be in excess of $400 million, and his annual income more $30 million. He owns several homes and a number of private aircraft. He was certainly a ripe target for prosecution and “asset forfeiture” – or he would have been, had he been a commoner like Jimmy Tebeau, rather than the politically connected grandson of retired federal Judge Rush Hudson Limbaugh Sr., whose name is affixed to the courthouse where the entertainer’s cousin consummated the theft of Tebeau’s business and property.
Go here for details and background about the Federal theft of Camp Zoe.
June 16th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
Police Forfeiture Squads Out of Control!
Like a spreading plague, media reports of Police using Civil Asset Forfeiture to seize property from innocent owners is frightening off buyers of motels, bars, restaurants; residential rental property.
Investors and property owners increasingly believe they are sitting ducks for police to confiscate their property. Many investors note the recent publicized civil forfeiture of Motel Caswell by Federal & Local Law Enforcement Agencies from the Caswell family that owned and operated the motel for two generations. The Caswells cooperated with police to abate infrequent drug problems at their motel caused by guests. The family Motel was free and clear and perhaps provided a target for police forfeiture. See: “United States v. 434 Main Street, Tewksbury, Mass.”
Bars, restaurant and rental property owners Increasingly fear police; strongly believe police can make it a point—to shut down or seize any bar, restaurant, motel or residential rental by arresting a customer or tenant unbeknownst to the owner—possessing or distributing drugs; or believe undercover police / informants can steer drug sales or buys onto their property or business to forfeit it. Some owners of bars, restaurants and rental property become police informants, report on their customers—in the erroneous belief police won’t target their business or property.
There are more than 350 laws and violations that can subject property to government asset forfeiture. Government civil asset forfeiture requires only a civil preponderance of evidence for police to forfeit property, little more than hearsay. No one need be charged with a crime. Corrupt Police can even create the hearsay. If police civil forfeiture abuse is not brought under control it is foreseeable many Americans will be afraid to own real and personal property that comes in contact with the public.
It is understandable more business and rental property owners fear police. Almost every week there are news reports of police, including high-ranking police and sheriffs being arrested for selling drugs, robbing, extorting or protecting drug dealers, planting evidence; filing false reports to send innocent persons to prison.
Is CISPA A Government Trojan Horse?
U.S. Government Can Use CISPA Internet Spying To Control and Forfeit Businesses—Seize Your Property:
CISPA: The Cyber Information Sharing and Protection Act if passed by Congress would allow U.S. Spy and other government agencies to share Americans’ confidential Internet and other information with Government Certified Self Protected Cyber Entities, Certified Cyber Entity Employees and Elements in both government and private sectors to help protect them—against Cyber threats.
However—CISPA would also allow Government agencies, police and government quasi/contractors (WITHOUT WARRANTS) OR LIABILITY to take out of context—any innocent hastily written email, fax or other Internet activity to allege a crime or violation was committed to cause a person’s arrest, assess fines or civilly forfeit a business or person’s property.
Government can use CISPA to (certify any Self Protected Cyber Entity or their employee—to spy on their employers and clients: (CIVIL Asset Forfeiture Incentive). U.S. Government is not prohibited from paying any Government Certified Cyber Self Protected Entity or Employee; or Element part of government forfeited assets or other compensation that result from the aforementioned providing U.S. Government a corporation’s or clients’ private/confidential information—that (now) require a warrant or court order. Federal. Government currently contracts on a fee/commission-sharing basis with Self Protected Cyber Entities, Elements and Contractors that have security clearances to participate in facilitating arrests and Government asset forfeitures. It is expected U.S. Government, police and private contractors’—Civil Asset Forfeiture of Americans’ property will greatly escalate if CISPA is passed allowing Government certified private cyber entities and their employees—No Warrant Searches of persons’ and Businesses’ confidential Internet Information—that can be handed over to the government e.g. private emails, faxes, phone and transmitted files for investigation, prosecution and asset forfeiture—circumventing the Fourth Amendment.
CISPA Internet Spying: Since CISPA was passed by the House, two additional cyber-security bills have been created in the Senate called, “The Cyber Security Act of 2012” and “SECURE IT Act”. Both bills appear unconstitutional; appear designed to circumvent the Fourth Amendment and public Freedom of Information Requests. The Cyber Security Act of 2012 formally known as S. 2105 was created by Senate Democrats, Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins. Similar to CISPA, the Cyber security Act of 2012 would abolish legal walls that stop Federal government and private companies sharing information. The SECURE IT ACT: S.2151 was introduced by Senate Republicans on March 1st 2012: would (require) federal contractors to alert government about any cyber threats, forcing such communications between government regulators and corporations. The SECURE IT Act authorizes sharing of persons’ private Internet information (without a warrant) going beyond what is necessary to report a believed cyber threat. SECURE It Act fails to create a regulatory system at the Federal level to oversee cyber-security threats opening the door for persons’ and businesses’ confidential information to be misused and misappropriated by government agencies and private sector government certified cyber entities.
Under CISPA: Government should be prohibited from using so-call (Certified Self Protected Cyber Entities, their Employees) and Elements to circumvent the Fourth Amendment; escape Public Freedom of Information Requests. CORRUPTED: Government Certified Self Protected Cyber Entities and Employees, U.S. Government Agencies, Contractors and Police too easily may use someone’s confidential Internet Information, e.g. transmitted files and private emails collected (without warrants) to extort Americans, corporations, politicians; for compensation, target a businesses’ competitor; or sell private information gleaned from warrant-less Internet Surveillance.
If CISPA is passed allowing NO Warrant private self protected cyber entity spying, some Internet writers and political activists might be dead-meat under NDAA. Americans” who write on the Internet or verbally express an opinion against any entity of U.S. Government or its coalition partners—may under The Defense Authorization Act of 2012—be deemed by U.S. Government (someone likely to engage in, support or provoke violent acts or threaten National Security)— or (Belligerent) to order an American writer or activist’s indefinite prison detention.
February 19th, 2013 at 11:12 am
What the Feds and Police never mention is the fact they REFUSED in writing to provide Jimmy officers to help protect Zoe…as they had at EVERY Schwagstock before! I think it was their intention all along: To STEAL ZOE!!! The thought of a judge with his name on the courthouse screams corruption!!!If he had ANY integrity he would resign!!!