Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with criminal

Ex-criminal thinking of committing new crimes.

TooSlick — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:17:12 -0800

Ex-criminal thinking of committing new crimes. I'm considering a new business wherein I show people how vulnerable they are to robbery, burglary, identity theft, kidnapping and any other form of criminal mischief.

My proposed plan of action is to 'target' Top 100 CEO's and the like, sending them a 'teaser' package pointing out some of the obvious, yet specific to them, risks to their current life security. This package would ideally prompt them to contact me for further, in-depth security consulting.

My credentials are also my dilemma in this endeavor: I am very criminally minded, genius level IQ, with a high thirst for risks and thrills. Nearly 20 years ago I was on the Most Wanted List for over 14 months during which time I committed or planned most every crime for money imaginable. Then came 13 years in state and federal prisons. I have been out now more than five years crime free. I want to use my powers now for good, not evil.

My question: will my past limit my future? How do I protect myself - and my clients - in this endeavor. I certainly have the credentials and know how to protect them, but at the same time I don't want my proposed business to come off like some old mafia shakedown of clients thinking that they're "paying for protection."

How does one trust an ex-con who is trying to help others from being connned?

Someone I love needs a lawyer.

bricoleur — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:38:41 -0800

How would you go about finding the best criminal defense attorney in your state?

Freakonomics and MySpace abductions.

SirStan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:27:25 -0800

I live in Vermont. I work in a small town that has been directly affected by the recent Brooke Bennett tragedy (family involved 12 year old in sex ring and killed her, attempted to blame it on a MySpace predator) in an industry that is directly related to dealing with the aftermath. I am also reading Freakonomics, which amongst other things has persuaded me to look past media hype and compare numbers to actual relevant data. I have two questions 1. How many children a year are kidnapped/abducted that can be directly attributed to social networking sites online vs other baseline statistics (how many children's parents kidnap them, how many children are killed due to negligence such as not belting kids in).

2. (Completely hypothetical) Given say a $500,000 grant to promote child safety, where would the money most be effective in comparative ranking to "ZOMG MYSPACE" alerts and education.

Are online predators really any statistical danger, or just an easy and new headline.

Yeah, I know, YANML or whatever...

miss lynnster — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:49:40 -0800

Hypotheticalcriminalfilter: if someone was allegedly caught committing fraud against another person (specifics to follow) what would the exact legal charges be (felony fraud/misdemeanor fraud, etc.) and what would the likely sentence be if that person had charges filed against them and was found or pled guilty? I'm looking for what the answer would be if this person was caught and the crimes were committed in the state of California.

Case #1: Let's say person A allegedly stole person B's brand new debit card, authorized it and took approximately $200 out of the account without knowledge of person B.

Case #2: Let's say person A allegedly took a blank check of person B's (again without their knowledge) and cashed it for approximately $8000.00, most likely forging a signature.

Bonus Questions:

A. Is there any way that person A could've allegedly taken money out of person b's equity accounts without their knowledge? How would that be possible? If it is true, how could it be proven?

B. What about if person A allegedly borrowed a large sum of money from person B... what would happen if person A had the paperwork destroyed and denied the loan ever happened and it was a gift? Has this money just vanished never to be seen again? Is there anything that can be done on person B's behalf without their involvement? Assume person B is too incapacitated to handle this themselves.

Note: I'm neither person A or person B. I'm just law abiding person C, who really wants to trust people but also believes in justice and in not being stupid.

If I work out of my apartment, will I be my only client?

pantheON — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:54:21 -0800

Can I run a criminal law practice out of my apartment? I'm in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I'm currently articling (for my American friends, that's a mandatory one-year apprenticeship I have to complete to get called to the bar) at a mid-sized insurance defense firm. I've concluded that I want to get out of this area of the law and I'm interested in pursuing a career in criminal defence. I've been told that I'll likely have to take legal aid cases almost exclusively until I gain some more experience and can establish a full practice. My question is a narrow one: What are the practicalities of working out of my apartment until I can build a practice that can support office space. My apartment is in the business district of the city and about a 10 minute walk from the courthouses. Could I, for example, work out of my apartment, store my files there, and meet clients in public places?

Have Studies Been Done On Criminal Background Check Accuracy?

peacecorn — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 05:53:10 -0800

How reliable, statistically speaking, are criminal background checks? Criminal background checks from a large national agencies (ADT, ChoicePoint, etc) obviously aren't infallible. But has anyone done actual studies on this topic?

I'm asking from an employer's perspective, not as some scofflaw looking to see what my chances of "slipping through the cracks" are. I need to report on how thorough and complete these checks really are, so I'm looking for hard data.

I found this MSNBC article in which an expert off-handedly mentions "we've done studies and...," and I saw this from the CS Monitor which uses a small sample sized criminology study.

Problem is, I'm not sure these data points represent enough evidence to counter the gut-feeling assumptions of my audience of the infallibility of the background check process.

The ideal study would be of a large sample and would focus on felons slipping through the cracks due to missing data (i.e., credit check data is useless, and details about the many people with data that IS on their report in error isn't as helpful as I'd like).

Anything like that out there?

how to get a job in television punditry--with a felony on your record.

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 21:02:52 -0800

CareerObjective: I think I have pronounced strengths in almost every area that would benefit a Television Pundit/Talking Head—as well as the strong desire to make a living at same. I also have at least one glaring drawback (hint: I’m a convicted felon) there's a lot more info inside. Feel free to skim if you'd like. So… one time the head of my department in undergraduate told me (cobbled together from my faulty memory and a letter of recommendation he later wrote) “John, in spite of all your shortcomings as a pupil, you’ve always frankly amazed me with your ability to craft insightful and interesting analogy, and tailor it to your audience in a way that often creates for them a revelatory experience.” I was floored. Made me feel ten feet tall. Also, he was right.

Help me bring this talent to the world. I’ll give you some background, you go nuts. I’d like some honest advice, because I ask this question in complete earnestness, looking for some way to make this a reality. As trivial as this profession is, as disposable and odious as you may consider the men and women who earn their living this way, please suspend your enmity to help me realize a dream. Email any private thoughts to exconpundit@gmail.com.

I’m 30 years old, white, monolingual--BS in Geography and Economics from a State University, graduated in the bottom 25% of my class—but I still have a suspicion that by whatever objective criteria you’d like to rate the efficacy of on-air punditry talent, I’d score exceedingly high. I’m not a braggart, I swear; and I’m frankly at a loss for what anyone would get from bragging anonymously. Forgive me any self-aggrandizement—I actually pride myself on humility in my daily life.

I’m handsome. Like… real handsome, think a butched-up 6’3” Scandinavian Jude Law. I speak well, I have a charming manner and an engaging way of talking. I’m the guy people queue up to talk with at the dinner party. Suits hang on my broad shoulders like you wouldn’t believe. I have a command of the English language that exudes authority on any given subject. If my piercing, expressive eyes and straight, car-salesman teeth don’t charm you, the erudite wit and man’s-man Midwestern, lower-class charm and occasional idiomatic interjection will. The camera loves me. But these are not my main strengths.

My greatest punditry strength: an eidetic memory for historical, cultural, and economic trends, people, and events for any region of the world. Serious. If I ever read it, it’s still with me. This can be, like, party-trick-level (name every neighbor of Iran, clockwise, starting with Turkey), or it can be just… scary stupid showoff shit (the first six, “five year plans” of the Soviet Union: date adopted, stated goals, successes/failures, and historical legacy). I understand most of it… but by God I remember all of it. Matched with my rhetorical quickness, and well, I can do pretty much whatever you’d like.

I also spent time in prison. I sold a lot of weed to a cop. I haven’t broken one law since, and I paid my debt to society. No violence or coercion or fraud, or treachery. You’re helping a reformed man… not some deranged or incorrigible scofflaw.

How do I go about landing my first punditry gig? I can’t go the government route—no way to get a security clearance. I have no idea about a think-tank route, and my undergraduate grades sorta… keep me from getting an advanced degree (6 grad school applications so far, 6 rejections). ALSO: I'm not sure how keen the think-tank would be on the convicted-felon thing.

So that leaves me with what…? Christopher Hitchens started by writing. I can write “well”, but no better. I mean to say--I pity you if you pay to read what I write. Like I said—I remember all of it… understanding it (well enough to write cogently about it), well, that depends on which day you catch me.

Metafilter. I swear I will make you proud if you help me realize this dream. I got everything but the connections, and I’ll tirelessly pursue any reasonable course of action that we as a group can come up with.

(And… I’m not an insufferable egotistical trasp in real life, I promise. You’d like me. I’ve always felt the best when I’m making people feel listened to and smart and valued. I just felt like I had to get you worked up and excited about my prospects to get you on board. Some anonymous immodesty was required. Forgive me. Many thanks.)

Getting into Japan with a criminal record

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:11:16 -0800

So I have a small issue with my criminal record and obtaining a Japanese student visa. I'm not sure if anyone will really be able to answer this question, but I will ask anyway.

I will be heading to Japan this fall as a graduate researcher, which requires me to apply for a student visa to stay in the country for two or more years. As part of the visa application process, I must fill out a form called "Application for Certificate of Eligibility."

It is a particularly bureaucratic document that requests all the standard names, addresses and personal history one would expect to provide during a visa application. This includes a small portion that asks, "Do you have any criminal record (if yes please explain)" and then provides a very, very tiny blank line for explanation.

I do in fact have a criminal record, though it was all acquired before the age of 21. No drug charges, nor violent crimes. A few theft and vandalism misdemeanors is all, but it's still more of a record than I'd like to have when applying for a visa to live in a foreign country.

I want to be honest on my application, but I also have a huge interest in my graduate school, which put me through an incredibly trying application process, and I don't want to forfeit my dreams and goals because I can't get a visa (I've already made it through the most demanding part of the grad. school ordeal, I just want my visa!). So I'm considering simply bubbling in the "No" instead of the "Yes."

This seems like a horrible idea--except there's one catch--I've done this before. The last time I lived in Japan I also required a student visa, and that time I lied, bubbling in "No," when prompted on my criminal background. It may have been a bad idea, but my certificate was approved, no problem, and I had a visa in days. I'm tempted to do the same thing this time around, but I'm strongly compelled to be honest, as lying on any part of the application is a disqualification.

So here's the questions, in order of importance: how much does a criminal record hurt my chances of getting a student visa in Japan? If I should choose to circle "Yes," how should I explain this, and what will the people evaluating my application be looking for in that tiny blank? What could i possibly write in that space that would explain multiple juvenile misdemeanors? Should I tell my university about the problem? Any other suggestions on how to deal with this?

I'm currently working on expunging these things from my record, but it's time consuming and expensive.

Please keep any comments relating to the morality of lying on a visa application to yourself. Also, comments along the lines of "you should have thought about this when you were breaking the law," aren't necessary, as we all make mistakes and I've had plenty of time to think about mine.

Will they throw the book at me?

Cat Pie Hurts — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 12:27:17 -0800

Going to court in MA because I'm not such a smooth criminal. In mid-November 2006, I was pulled over for having an expired vehicle registration (it expired just over a month before). Unbeknownst to me, my driver's license expired the month before (I was on a 10 year renewal and had completely forgotten about it). I also had unpaid parking tickets that caused both license and registration to be suspended, My plates were taken by the police and my car towed away. The officer told me that if I took care of getting my license and registration reinstated quickly, chances are that they will just let me off.

I just received my criminal(!!) complaint notice and my arraignment date at the Waltham District Court.. I am quite terrified. I've never been charged with criminal violations before. I've never had to appear in court before. I have no idea what to expect. What should I bring with me? How should I dress? What should I plead, guilty or no contest? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Looking for songs and movies that can teach abusers about relationships

Alison — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 07:01:58 -0800

Looking for popular songs and movies that can be used to educate people in the system for abuse related crimes. These examples will be used to facilitate discussions about relationship boundaries, male entitlement, and inappropriate behavior. A friend runs group counseling sessions to reform/educate male criminals convicted of crimes related to personal relationships. Most are physical/sexual abusers attending these sessions as a condition of their release. She has a book to help run the group. However, the book is not right for many of her attendees as many have a 8th grade level education and are unable to keep up. The examples will be used as a shortcut to help them learn about appropriate behavior using things they are already familar with.

My friend is looking for songs, movies and other media to help facilitate group discussion. The clips won't be used as examples of right and wrong, but as conversation tools. She is looking for things that the attendees will likely already know and remember and is especially interested in appropriate songs from the hip hop and country music genres. Because this is job related the content should be at about a PG-13 level or below. Also, we are not looking for a discussion about how well criminal reform works. Save it for the blue.

Here is one example of a song she plans on using:

The Temptations
"Ain't Too Proud To Beg"

...If I have to sleep on your doorstep
All night and day just to keep you from walkin' away
Let your friends laugh, even this I can stand
Because I want to keep you any way I can

Ain't too proud to beg, sweet darlin'
Please don't leave me girl, don't you go
Ain't to proud to plead, baby, baby
Please don't leave me girl, don't you go...

The more well known the movie/song is to the general population the better. This means that the Mountain Goats probably wouldn't be appropriate.

Here is another example with appropriate content, but rejected because of obscurity:

Weezer
"No One Else"

...I want a girl who will laugh for no one else
When I'm away she puts her makeup on the shelf
When I'm away she never leaves the house
I want a girl who laughs for no one else...

Why have crime rates fallen in the U.S.?

davidgmarkham — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 11:42:44 -0800

Why have crime rates in the United States fallen over the last several years?

California Criminal Grand Jury Selection Process

trixare4kids — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 22:46:49 -0800

California Criminal Grand Jury Selection Process: Can anyone tell me what the prosecutor and judge are looking for as they question and choose who in the pool is selected to serve? The questionnaire asked if you've previously served on a jury and, if so, if you were foreperson. Does having already served on a jury and/or been jury foreperson help or hinder? I'm wondering if they were looking for certain backgrounds, personality traits, experience, etc.

Turning Stolen Art into Money

taz — Fri, 05 May 2006 05:10:33 -0800

How can thieves profit from stolen masterpieces by using them as "collateral" for drug trafficking? How might they use the stolen works for money laundering? I'm helping a friend with a screenplay in which relatively low level organized crime figures (involved in drugs, prostitution, etc.) carry out an art heist. I objected that a group of this sort wouldn't have the necessary connections to do anything substantial with the stolen items, but on researching the question a bit, I found this article (google cache) that says:
_______________________

In reality, art theft is intrinsically linked to money laundering and drug trafficking

[and]

Thieves are unable to sell stolen masterpieces on the open market since the objects are so well known that reputable dealers will immediately recognise them. The only way a masterpiece can be sold is on the black market, either for cash or as collateral. A painting like Leonardo da Vinci’s Madonna with the Yarnwinder could never be sold legitimately, and it is most likely that thieves are indirectly profiting from its use as collateral for drug trafficking.
_______________________

How would this work?

I'm especially thinking of a museum or gallery heist, as opposed to a private owner, though this plot point is somewhat fluid. Also, the reason this happens in the script is that it's a subplot, intrinsic to the main story, for which just saying "change the profile of the thieves" won't work... They have to be rather thuggish sorts, not sophisticated or high society criminals.

Allegedly Speeding...

disillusioned — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 16:31:12 -0800

AllegedSpeedingFilter: What should I expect at my criminal speeding trial? In November, I was pulled over by two Arizona DPS officers on the US 60, travelling westbound at the Dobson offramp.

They wrote me a ticket for "criminal speed," paced, with a speed of "90+," (in a 65) though the officer claimed my driving hit 98 MPH. (He was "cutting me a break," and was actually a nice guy in general.)

He stated that he paced me from a quarter of a mile back, at 11:30pm, and couldn't catch me, so he radioed ahead for another DPS officer (travelling eastbound) to spin around and pull me over.

There were other vehicles on the road, including several others travelling at a high rate of speed.

I plead not guilty, and the judge offered me traffic school, which would have taken away this incident entirely. I, however, attended traffic school for another ticket within the 24-month allowed period, and was not eligible to attend. So I was scheduled for a pre-trial conference.

At the pre-trial conference, the prosecutor informed me that I was over the limit for dropping it to a civil citation, but that he could offer me a charge at the Class 3 Misdemeanor of criminal speed and a fine of $150 if I plead out right there.

I chose to go to trial.

My questions are: (and yes, I've read the other speeding threads; none I've found were for a criminal proceeding)

1) Am I stupid for not just taking the plea? The lawyer I spoke to said I'd likely lose, if the officer was there.

2) Does the prosecutor have to inform me he intends to call both officers as witnesses?

3) Is there any reasonable argument to be made about the officer having lost a visual on me from his first (far back) "pacing" of me to when he and the other officer caught up to me, at a lower (but still allegedly in violation) rate of speed?

4) What can I expect from the trial? I'm not willing to toss $850-$1,000 towards a lawyer for a half hour trial, so I'll likely be going it alone. I know to dress nicely, and the prosecutor tells me they'll likely present the car's calibration records for the speedometer and that sort of thing.

5) Will the judge ask any questions on my behalf, or is it up to me to defend myself entirely?

I'm just not too fond of the idea of racking up a class 3 misdemeanor, for insurance and because it's a criminal record, but right now, the $150 is looking decent. (They're not seeking jail time, so I'm not entitled to a defense provided by the state. The prosecutor said the judge would likely follow the bond schedule and fine me around $220, though the maximum is $500.)

6) Any chance I'll scrape by this? Or am I better off taking the plea?

Thanks for all your help. Yes, I know speeding is wrong. Remember, I maintain I was not going as fast as they say I was. I'd also love to hear what a criminal speeding violation will do to someone's job opportunities or rent, though I imagine it's going to look better than "child pornographer" or some such.

What happens if an American commits a crime in a less-than-free foreign country?

BradNelson — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 20:41:21 -0800

What happens if an American commits a crime in a less-than-free foreign country? [MI]