MONEY LAUNDERER by Kenneth Rijock
Once I had given my first law enforcement money laundering trade-craft lecture, I realised that there was another benefit to be derived from giving back. I was laboring under a three-year post-incarceration period of what is known as Supervised Release. This is basically parole in disguise. The US Congress, in its infinite wisdom, abolished parole for new offenses committed after October 31, 1987, pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. Remember, prisoners could be paroled after as little as one third of their sentences, and faced mandatory full-term release after two-thirds. What the Sentencing Reform Act cleverly did is ensure that criminals served 85% of their sentence, and were liable, after their release to a term of years of supervision, generally three or five years. Should they re-offend during that period, they could be returned to prison for the balance of their Supervised Release period. It directed that the US Probation Office, which was then supervising those parolees still under the old law, supervise all the new law (post-1987) cases. It was parole under another label, and I was required to serve three years of it by the sentencing judge, in line with the then-mandatory US Sentencing Guidelines (the Guidelines are now optional, but still a powerfully persuasive authority). Could I not have my Supervised Release reduced for some reason?
- Cannot leave the Federal District where he resides, without the express permission of his Parole Officer.
- Must attend school, or maintain gainful employment.
- Is tested regularly, and without any prior notice, for drug use.
- Can be visited by his Probation Officer (P.O.) at his residence, at any time, and contraband seized without a warrant.
- May generally not get bond if arrested for a subsequent crime.
- Can be violated for only an arrest, not a conviction.
- Cannot associate with convicted felons, or known individuals of unsavory character, or frequent places where such people, or drugs, are generally found.
- Cannot abuse alcohol; only nominal consumption is allowed.
- Must keep reasonable hours; no night-owl prowling after hours.
- Cannot possess firearms or dangerous weapons.
Therefore, every time that I wanted to travel outside the Key West to Fort Pierce area, I was required to obtain permission from my P.O. He or she also notified US Probation in those locations that I would be in the area. In other words, they kept tabs on me. Thus, an additional incentive for me to conduct lectures for law enforcement was the distinct possibility that I could reduce the term of my Supervised Release.
Right after that, I received a request from a Canadian law enforcement agency; would I assist in a training programme for their undercover agents engaged in money laundering stings? I found the project to be fascinating:
- A number of Canadian law enforcement agents were detailed to serve as itinerant money launderers; they underwent an intensive two-week training course designed to instill in them cover stories.
- The cover stories were tested, repeatedly, by the instructors, to ensure that they would not slip up and make what could be fatal mistakes when dealing with their targeted clientele, narcotics traffickers selling their products across Canada.
- My job was to cover the techniques and strategies they would employ, to discuss some of the more esoteric tactics, and to cover the advantages and disadvantages of each Caribbean Tax Haven.
- The programme was run covertly at one of the country's leading universities, and they put me up anonymously at a local bed and breakfast.
- I brought with me a BBC programme on tax havens and financial crime that featured an interview I had given, and passed out some names and addresses that would familiarise the agents with the proprietary aspects of linking up with, and networking with dirty lawyers who moved illicit cash. Teaching money laundering for several hours at a stretch I found to be mentally challenging, and frankly, fun.
At the end of the week, I was presented with a plaque of appreciation, and left with a feeling that, for the first time, I was part of the solution, and not part of the problem.
Next Week: My attitude begins to change.
The facts and opinions stated in this article are those of the author and not those of World-Check. World-Check does not warrant the accuracy of any facts and opinions stated in this article, does not endorse them, and accepts no responsibility for them.
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