U.S. General Accounting Office Reports Chronic Problems in Federal
Asset Forfeiture Program
          
     -- by Brenda Grantland, Esq., F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 1 No.
2, (June, 1992)

     The General Accounting Office, an arm of Congress whose
mission is to keep an eye out for waste, fraud, abuse and
mismanagement in the various agencies of the U.S. government, has
since 1983 reported chronic problems in the administration of the
Justice Department's and Customs' asset forfeiture programs.

     In a May 1991, report, entitled ASSET FORFEITURE: Need for
Stronger Marshals Service Oversight of Commercial Real Property,
(GAO/GGD-91-82), the GAO reported:  "This report is one in a series
addressing various aspects of the Department of Justice's and the
U.S. Customs Service's asset forfeiture programs.  The Comptroller
General has designated the asset forfeiture programs as high-risk
areas warranting special audit effort because of their
vulnerability to fraud, waste, and mismanagement.  Both programs
deal with hundreds of millions of dollars of seized property
annually and have been identified by their agencies as having
significant internal control problems."

     There is not enough space in this newsletter to begin to
describe the types of waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement GAO has
found over the years.  We will touch on these reports from time to
time as we discuss the issues involved.  

     If you would like to have the complete story from the GAO
about all the waste, fraud and abuse they have uncovered over the
years, you are entitled, as an American citizen and taxpayer to a
free copy of each of the reports.  (More than one copy per address
costs $2 each).  

     To order copies, write U.S. General Accounting Office, P.O.
Box 6015, Gaithersburg, MD 20877 (or fax your request to (301)258-
4066.)  All you have to do is send the citations listed below,
along with your name and address.  The government pays for postage.

     The following is a listing of the citations for all the GAO
reports dealing with the federal asset forfeiture programs: 
GAO/PLR-83-94; GAO/GGD-86-12; "Statement of Arnold P. Jones Before
the Committee on the Budget, U.S. Senate, on Customs Management of
Seized and Forfeited Cars, Boats and Planes, Statement, 4-3-86;
GAO/GGD-87-20; GAO/GGD-87-7; GAO/T-GGD-87-27; GAO/T-GGD-87-28;
GAO/GGD-88-30; GAO/T-GGD-88-16; GAO/GGD-88-41; GAO/T-GGD-89-17;
GAO/T-GGD-90-1; GAO-GGD-90-01VR; GAO/GGD-90-94; GAO/GGD-90-56;
GAO/T-GGD-91-22; GAO/GGD-91-82; GAO/GGD-91-127.
                                        -BG