Quote:
Originally Posted by eobmtns
This is a great video and a great thread. I have enjoyed many of the responses.
When I was just getting my first real (career style) job, the guy I worked with looked like a complete goombah (a real life Bensonhurst, Brooklyn raised Sicilian) . In the late 80's he wore the white pants, no socks with leather bruno mally shoes, had long slick backed hair and basically looked like a cocaine dealer from Miami Vice.
We worked in an all cash business in NY that was and still is 100% legit. However, he had a place in FL (where his kids lived) and would travel back and forth. At the time, he was one of those guys who didn't like credit cards and always paid with cash (later on he was made by his accountant to always pay with credit and ALWAYS leave a receipt trail for everything - a recommendation I make for everyone here).
To the point and relationship to the topic. He would travel back and forth from FL to NY and on 4 different occasions he was stopped at the airport for having more then 10k on him. This is no joke but on 3 of the 4 occasions he was strip searched (AND FULL BODY CAVITY searched) because of this and/or because of the old 80's profiling combination. He looked like a drug dealer, he was alone, he paid in cash, bought one way tickets, bought on the spur of the moment, and he had lots of cash on him, etc. These are all red flags, like them or not.
My only point is that you should be lucky that you don't get harassed as bad as he did. And, to be honest, I think Vif had a few things that made him stick out. First, why in the world would you show your roll to the agent? Every street wise person always has 2 rolls, one they use to pay for small purchases and to use when they have to and the other for whatever (they also use the small roll in case they are ever mugged - which again is surprising doesn't happen as much as it does with all these easy marks walking around in the poker community). I think you were too into showing off here and it came to bite you in the arse. Being loud, flashy, etc.
People can complain about the rights aspect and that is 100% spot on. But if you look the part, act the part, have priors, etc. I think you are the idiot for not doing more to protect yourself (your time) and your hard earned money.
My final suggestion to all of you is that the IRS is starting to investigate the poker world and as our country goes further and further into debt, this will become common (you saw it here first!). When you carry cash now you are flagged at airports and reported with the IRS. Get enough of these flags and you
will be investigated personally. With the implementation of the "un"Patriot Act the IRS can spy on you, your emails, phones, computer, money accounts, etc. with no real provocation or solid reasons. Even a small flag reported by the DEA at an airport can trigger one of these. AND even if you are 100% paying your taxes in full, you will spend countless dollars, time, energy, etc. trying to defend yourself (what ever happened to innocent until PROVEN guilty). The IRS doesn't care if you are innocent or guilty, they want money. In the end semantics can create guilt even if innocent.
I feel our freedoms are being choked off by the so called government we have elected but aside from this we have to protect ourselves. Maybe someday enough of us willing to get off our asses and pull a Greenland but until then we are our own responsibility.