Critics of civil asset forfeiture quite rightly refer to the practice of swiping cash and property from people accused (but not convicted) of crimes as "legalized theft." That enrages law enforcement types who insist they're just abiding by the law, never mind that the law is contemptible. But there are times when forfeiture clearly crosses over into outright robbery, such as when John Cox, an Albany County, New York, sheriff's department employee, used seized proceeds to cover his lousy luck with cards or horses. It's simultaneously awful and thoroughly in keeping with the policy of civil asset forfeiture. "The head of the Albany County Sheriff's Office business office was charged with grand larceny and five counts of forgery after he allegedly siphoned more than $68,000 from the department's federal forfeiture funds account and forged Sheriff Craig Apple's name to cover it up," Albany's Times-Union reported last week. "Apple said he believes Cox was using the money to pay off gambling debts."
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