
Prosecutors Drop Drug Trafficking Case Against FedEx - protomyth
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/prosecutors-drop-drug-trafficking-case-fedex-39945630
======
downandout
Nothing surprises me with the government anymore. The DEA wanted to continue
building a drug case, so they didn't give Fedex information that they would
have used to immediately cutoff service to the suspects, which would have
tipped them off that the Feds were onto them. That's certainly their right,
but they can't then turn around and prosecute Fedex for not acting on
information they never had.

This was nothing more than a shakedown attempt by the government. There is
little doubt that Fedex was approached with numerous offers to make this go
away in exchange for a hefty fine. In this case, Fedex should sue for
malicious prosecution and be awarded both compensatory and punitive damages. I
wonder if Fedex shareholders might have a claim against the government as
well, as this looming trial had to have damaged the stock price.

~~~
pseingatl
Similarly, Kim Dotcom's Megaupload cooperated with the government and was even
an FBI asset in investigations. All this was conveniently forgotten when they
raided his home.

------
refurb
My understanding is that these drugs were being shipped from legitamate
pharmacies (not some warehouse or personal residence) and that Fedex has a
metric ton of legitamate prescription drug shipping business.

So they are faced with the challenge of trying to identify which packages (of
which they don't know the details of the contents) are legal and illegal.
Quite difficult, so they ask the gov't to tell them which ones are the bad
actors and the gov't refuses.

Good for them for fighting the charges.

------
merpnderp
The government has been doing this for quite some time. Shake down a business,
fine them, guide fines into politically allied advocacy groups. Nothing spells
crapitalism like the government telling corporations how to spend their money
and corporations making sure those in government stay there.

The biggest example is likely Bank of America's mortgage fines being guided
into political advocacy groups with a $2 credit for every $1 donated. Relief
for actual victims only gets a $1 credit for every $1. Harder to be more
corrupt than that.

------
nowprovision
The only real crime here is squashing competition, now that a clear message
has been sent to all couriers, expect even further insane prices. Same drugs
can be bought via online pharmacies for fractions of the price from
docs/hospitals

------
mattybrennan
“I like the FedEx guy, 'cause he's a drug dealer and he don't even know it!
And he's always on time.” - Mitch Hedberg

------
avs733
From my memory and understanding, this reads similar in a lot of ways to the
WorldCom anti-wiretapping stance and the resulting hyper-aggressive federal
prosecution

~~~
HillRat
You're thinking of Qwest's Nacchio and his insider-trading conviction.
WorldCom was a few years earlier and an unambiguous case of massive financial
fraud on the heels of Enron. Bernie and his cronies deserved every bit of what
they got, and more besides.

~~~
sverige
Yeah, Bernie and WorldCom completely ruined one of the greatest tech startups
ever, MCI. I mean, they broke up the AT&T monopoly on phone service! With what
started out as a microwave radio service for truck drivers! (Yes, the AT&T
lawsuits to assert copyright over UNIX followed, but those were unintended
consequences and not MCI's fault.)

I once got a tour of the building that ran uu.net (owned by MCI) before it
became the domain of spamlords. There was the control center of practically
the entire internet backbone of 1993 right in front of me.

~~~
textmode
That was also the first commercial ISP (UUNet), correct me if wrong.

~~~
sverige
According to Wikipedia, The World was the first commercial ISP in 1989. I do
remember using MCIMail at a law firm around 1990-91 though, so they weren't
far behind.

~~~
textmode
Looking at the USENIX entry at the bottom of that Wikipedia page, "Spike"
states that it was Alternet (UUNet) that connected The World to the internet
in 1990. Also in the Slashdot interview he admits in 1989 they still were not
on the internet.

In 1989 the only internet connections I was aware of were via universities or
government agencies. Maybe The World was offering copies of Usenet or mail
forwarding prior to 1990, as were the people behind UUNet, but I would guess
they must have first downloaded the bits from a university or government
agency.

Can a company provide "internet service" before it is connected to the
internet? :)

------
hellofunk
Is this the legal version of "don't shoot the messenger" ?

~~~
jakobbuis
No, Fedex would have been liable if it had knowingly continued to ship illegal
drugs after having been notified by the government. In this case, Fedex asked
for needed details, and was rejected.

------
sverige
I wonder if this is related to the Paul Le Roux case recently featured in The
Atavist. Can't find the first submission for this or I'd link it. Le Roux sent
his pharmacists stacks of prepaid FedEx envelopes to ship the prescriptions
created by internet pharmacists, and that was actually one of the ways the
government caught up with him.

~~~
refurb
I thought the same thing. The types of drugs being sold were the same ones.

------
aphextron
"I like the FedEx driver, because he's a drug dealer and he don't even know
it... And he's always on time."

------
pasbesoin
I'll be satisfied when the extortionist legal eagles have their licenses
permanently revoked and maybe go to jail.

Their bosses, too.

------
dang
Url changed from [http://overlawyered.com/2016/06/justice-dept-case-fedex-
coll...](http://overlawyered.com/2016/06/justice-dept-case-fedex-collapses/),
which points to this.

~~~
Dylan16807
Then I'll copy a very impactful line that's only in that story:

> FedEx says it repeatedly asked the government to supply a list of shippers
> it considered illicit so that it could cut off service, but that the
> government refused; the Department of Justice contends that circumstantial
> evidence should have been enough to alert the package shipment company.

~~~
themartorana
Trying to get my head wrapped around this.

Can't.

~~~
stupang
The lack of details in the new 'improved' link? I feel you.

