hypothetical legal question

[Peter North 2]

He was caught with a large amount of gear. Apparantly someone who was buying from him, got caught and then gave the feds some information about him. They came into his house with a warrant and found a large quantity of a variety of steriods. He's been out on bond for some time, and has hired a top notch lawyer. Unfortunately, even his lawyer thinks he will do atleast 5 years, and his trial is coming up in a couple of months. He is dead set on leaving the country, but doesn't know alot about international travel and/or relocation. He's talked about going to Cancoon, but he really would like to find a place where he could start a new life, and not be in any danger of being extradited back to the US. I've forwarded him all of the information so far, and we both are extremely appreciative. He's one of my best friends, and I'm disgusted that the feds wouldn't use their time to go after real criminals. Please keep the information and suggestions coming.

thanks again

Peter North

 

[lincoln]

Mexico will ship his ass back asap.

 

[lincoln]

If he is serious he really needs to look into getting false ID. Probably should wait until he is out of the U.S.

Our law enforcement will track where he left the country and where he arrived at.

If when he arrived in some other country and became John Doe, when he moved to the non-extradition country of his choice there would be no paper trail from his past leading there.

There are people in Florida and probably many other places but I have never met any that send ID's(Real ID's) overseas (Thailand from my experiences) to family members and they fly right into the U.S. like they were already citizens.

They enter as if they live here and they are not even blinked at by customs.

If I where your friend I would take a long look in the mirror and decide whether or not I want to live the rest of my life as a fugitive.

Depending on the state, 5 years could only be 3 1/2. If he did get brought back to stand trial after being caught, well, I was a cop not a lawyer but I would imagine the penalties could be severe.

Bump for one of EF's law members

 

[pgerardone]

I have always heard Brazil.

 

[nycdefender]

Hey, Flaming, I'm here! Your friend shouldn't have a difficult time getting out of the U.S. I would probably drive over the Canadian border and then fly out of there.

The following countries have extradition treaties with the U.S.:
Afghanistan
Argentina
Great Britain
Gabon
Philippines
Algeria
Guinea
Qatar
Angola
Guinea Bissau
Rwanda
Bahrain
Indonesia
Samoa
Bangladesh
Iran
Sao Tome e Principe
Benin
Ivory Coast
Saudi Arabia
Bhutan
Jordan
Senegal
Botswana
Kuwait
Somalia
Brunei
Laos
Sudan
Burkina Faso
Lebanon
Syria
Burundi
Libya
Togo
Cambodia
Madagascar
Tunisia
Cameroon
Mali
Uganda
Cape Verde
Maldives
USSR
Central African Republic
Mauritania
United Arab Emirates
Chad
Mongolia
Vanuatu
China
Morocco
Vietnam
Comoros
Mozambique
Yemen
Djibouti
Nepal
Yemen South
Equatorial Guinea
Niger
Zaire
Ethiopia
Oman
Zimbabwe
Austria

Although a quick search did not turn up our NATO allies, I'm positive that each of them have extradition treaties as well. I believe Israel does, too. In fact, any United Nations member theoretically should extradict to any other country.

Although there are no formal extadition treaties with the following countries, the DEA as abducted people and brought them back to the U.S. to stand trial: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Uruguay, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Paraguay and Thailand. If a person is abducted and brought before a federal court on the drug charges, that person is considered to be properly before the court. (EXCEPTION: The country objects at the time of the abduction). Abduction does not contravine the U.S. Constitution. See Kerr v. Illinois.

Since I do not have any international law books at home, this is the best answer I can do, until I get to work tomorrow.

 

[nycdefender]

I understand your friend's fear of going to prison. But if he does flee the country, he can never come back to the United States. And he will probably have to cut off any communications with his family for some time, because the U.S. Marshalls will be hounding them for information. Your friend may not want to completely sever his ties.

Although I know your friend is in federal court, I do not know in which state he lives. Perhaps I'll know someone who practices in that region that could lend your friend a hand. If you're friend is in N.Y. or Maryland, Rick Collins (from steroidlaw.com) is an excellent lawyer.

 

[europe]

tell your friend to come to the swiss cheese. Friendly country. extradition only in the case when the crime leeds to more than one year prison according to the law of both countries. That means no extradition in this case because he wouldn't get prison for that according to local law here.

 

[Peter North 2]

Thanks again guys for all of the helpful information and suggestions. Please keep any useful information coming. My friend has made arrangements to have a fake identity. I won't go into to details, but this is one of the things that he has used his various connections to do. I haven't been able to tell him what would be the best place to disappear to. He's one of those people whom you can't help but like. He's a good guy and will do fine wherever he ends up. He's also got a big wad of cash to take with him. If you know of a specific place to go, please email the information to me at:

[email protected]

He's also more than willing to help out anyone who helps him. Thanks again.

Peter North

 

[lincoln]

Good luck I would imagine it will be a tough adjustment at first.

 

[Peter North 2]

I have given my friend the information that you guys have come up with. He is really appreciative. He has a plan in place that will make it difficult to track him, and has a fake identity ready when he does leave. From what I have gathered, these countries seem like good prospects for disappearing and starting over. Switzerland, Brazil, Ireland, Amsterdam, Cuba, and the Camin Islands. If anyone has any information about these countries, please share it with me. Also for those of you with legal expertese, how hard will they look for him once it is discovered that he disappeared?

thanks again

Peter North