The Cops Want This Car, Not That One
Nov 14, 2014 American police departments are using wish lists to decide which cars, electronics and other goods to seize in a practice that allows the government to confiscate property suspected of being tied to crime regardless of whether officers have secured a conviction or filed a charge.
IRS Seizes Money From Guiltless Americans on Mere Suspicion
Oct 26, 2014 A controversial area of law empowers the IRS to confiscate significant sums of money from "run-of-the-mill business owners and wage earners without so much as an allegation" and "without ever filing a criminal complaint," leaving the owners "to prove they are innocent," The New York Times reports.
‘Robbed of Their Right to Die in Peace’
Nov 5, 2013 A picture of betrayed trust emerges in reports of the bank theft of the last group of Spaniards who seem to have any money -- hundreds of thousands of elderly pensioners.
Think Your Money Is Safe in an Insured Bank Account? Think Again
Jul 5, 2013 An international trend to shift responsibility for bank losses onto blameless depositors lets banks take and gamble away your money.
Cha-Ching! ‘Visa Tax’ Brings $8 Billion in Fees to Just 10 Banks
Apr 29, 2011 Everyone knows you have to pay a municipal sales tax on your purchases, but what about a corporate Visa tax that's levied by credit card companies?
Five Famous Paintings Swiped in Paris Museum Heist
May 20, 2010 Somehow, a lone art bandit -- or a band of bandits -- managed to pull off an impressive five-finger-discount maneuver at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris on Wednesday night, making off with five masterpieces worth a grand total of close to 100 million euros. Sacré bleu!
Three Jailed for Auschwitz Sign Heist
Mar 18, 2010 Stealing the infamous "Work Sets You Free" sign from Auschwitz has landed three men in the slammer. On Thursday, a Polish court in Krakow doled out relatively short prison sentences to the trio, who admitted to the crime and thus skipped a trial. (continued)
Stolen Auschwitz Sign Found in Pieces
Dec 21, 2009 "Arbeit macht frei." Work makes you free. Those three German words sat over the entrance to the Auschwitz concentration camp in southern Poland for the better part of a century until the 16-foot, 90-pound sign went missing Friday. Police found it in northern Poland on Sunday, cut into three pieces. Five men were arrested.
Warhol Portraits Stolen From L.A. Home
Sep 12, 2009 A series of silk-screen paintings, made by Andy Warhol and mainly depicting ’70s-era athletes such as Dorothy Hamill and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, has allegedly been stolen from collector Richard L. Weisman's home on Los Angeles' Westside.
Art Dealer Nabbed in $88 Million Swindle
Mar 27, 2009 It appears to be game over for Manhattan art dealer and gallery owner Lawrence Salander, who was arrested Thursday morning and accused of stealing $88 million from various art world players, institutions and investors, including tennis champ John McEnroe. Actor Robert De Niro, pictured above next to an image of his artist-father, is accusing Salander of stealing 12 of the senior De Niro's paintings.
