Unprecedented: Musician Goes To Prison Because His Fans Sell Drugs To One Another

[Billy Pilgrim]

Here in my home town of St. Louis we have, or had, a fun Grateful Dead cover band called The Schwag. They never disappointed, and their shows contained a lot of unique improvisation, of their own style. The lead singer owns a campground known as Camp Zoe where music festivals featuring The Schwag were held periodically.

Recently, Missouri law enforcement found a very creative convolution of existing law which allowed them to throw him in prison, a law which prior to this event only applied to landlords who own crack-houses. His fans were using and selling drugs on his land during a weekend music festival, and he is being held to blame for it.

This is absolutely outrageous. I'd like to get the word out. Please read the article. It is a horrific injustice. I think Rolling Stone should cover this to give it some national exposure.

This guy, Jimmy Tebeau, is a great person, who does not deserve to be in prison.

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2013-06-13/news/jimmy-tebeau-crack-house-statute-schwagstock/

If you care about injustice in the world, please read this.

[PDJane]

1. Kick.

[GReedDiamond]

2. The Police State is out of control...

...the Drug War is the model for how all "law enforcement" will be carried out, apparently.

Sick shit this is.

[Ian David]

3. Unless he sings a song called, "Let's all sell drugs at my camp ground," this makes no sense. n/t

[booley]

21. makes perfect sense if you think about it

Think of this guy as a much easier target then the actual drug dealers.

Think of all the money vacuumed up by the "investigation" and the money from the sale of his property which because of drug laws will go the very police dept that arrested him.

Think of the prosecutor and police chief that boast about the "major drug dealer" they put behind bars. Think about how they were not going to do that much "investigation" and come away with nothing.

Think about how Tebeau's belief that some drugs like weed were fine rankled authoritarian mind sets. And it didnt' matter if he thought some drugs like meth were still bad or if he even used drugs himself. He was guilty by association.

It makes a very sick kind of sense.

[raccoon]

32. You have a point there. A few points. nt

[marmar]

4. What the Flying F**k?

This is totally bollocksed up.

[RainDog]

5. k&r n/t

[sigmasix]

6. Michigan did the same thing with rainbow farms

Right before 9-11 the state of michigan pulled the same thing on a good person. It was in vandalia Michigan and the feds and state cops ended up ending the life of the owner of rainbow farm and his partner. I had the honor to meet Tom a few months before his execution. Tom was throwing a small get together in a big old house on M60. The house had a history of being part of the underground railroad. my wife and I were given a tour of the house by tom wherin he told me of his plans to rejuvenate the old home. He spoke to me about the way the prosecution and the feds worked together to make him look like a drug dealer and a bad guy in general. Tom was foolish in his end decision- if he had walked away from the farm they wouldnt have been able to create the situation that escalated out of control and ended with 17 bullets in Tom's back. Lot's of good americans have been destroyed over a weed. The pressure of history will soon see national de-criminalization

[Billy Pilgrim]

9. That is absolutely terrible.

[calimary]

18. Welcome to DU, Billy Pilgrim!

Glad you're here! It IS absolutely terrible! My son has a band. I'm gonna make sure he knows about this.

[Jesus Malverde]

7. Reminds me of the Rainbow Farms murders.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Farm

Rainbow Farm was a pro-marijuana campground in Newberg Township, Cass County, Michigan, that was involved in a fatal police standoff on September 3, 2001. The campground was run by Tom Crosslin and his life partner Rolland "Rollie" Rohm, and was home to two annual festivals, "HempAid" and "Roach Roast", which ran from 1996 through 2001. The operation ended with the burning down of all the structures on the property and the deaths of both Tom Crosslin and Rolland Rohm.

[Billy Pilgrim]

10. That makes me so freaking mad.

People can be so stupid.

[Jesus Malverde]

11. The story was bumped from the news 7 days later...nt

[calimary]

19. Welcome to DU, Jesus Malverde!

Good to have you with us! Stunning that was about a week before the World Trade Center attacks. In 2001. THAT recent.

[burnodo]

8. Kick

[starroute]

12. The crack house law has also been used against rave promoters

http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/news/emdef1.htm

March 7, 2001

NEW ORLEANS, LA--A local music promoter and a concert hall manager who face up to 20 years in prison and $500,000 in fines simply for staging the electronic dance music events known as "raves" said today that the charges against them amount to censorship and have asked a federal court here to dismiss the case.

"The prosecution by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is part of a novel -- and entirely unconstitutional -- strategy to curtail use of the drug Ecstasy, which has been associated with raves, by using federal 'crack house' laws," said Arthur Lemann, a local attorney who is representing one of the defendants.

Youth culture expert Douglas Rushkoff as well as music industry professionals are speaking out against the prosecution of rave organizers as an unfounded attack on a vibrant music culture. The American Civil Liberties Union has also said that it opposes such prosecutions on constitutional grounds.


http://bbs.clubplanet.com/new-york-new-jersey/68455-jury-clears-club-la-vela-any-crackhouse-law-violations.html

Tallahassee, FL, Nov. 27 -- After less than two hours of deliberation, jurors in the Club La Vela trial returned with a verdict of "not guilty" on all charges for defendants Patrick and Thorsten Pfeffer. This precedent setting case deals a major blow to federal prosecutors who for the second time this year have tried to use a 1986 law designed to rid neighborhoods of crack houses against persons who manage nightclubs that play electronic dance music.

Although the Pfeffer brothers were accused of violating federal narcotics laws, no drugs were ever found on them or inside their club (similar to the New Orleans case.) Instead of drugs, trial prosecutors showed the jury BlowPops, gum, and glow sticks - items seized in a April 27th raid on the club. The assorted candies were presented as "evidence" that Club La Vela patrons were using drugs. Prosecutors also showed the jury a picture downloaded from Club La Vela's website of a man giving a massage to another man - this too was introduced as "evidence" of drug use.

[Billy Pilgrim]

13. I guess I was wrong in the use of the word "unprecedented."

Unfortunately that doesn't make me feel any better.

[starroute]

14. How about "outrageous" then? Or even "perverted"? (n/t)

[Spitfire of ATJ]

15. Let's arrest everyone who's attended a Willie Nelson concert while we're at it.

Next, we will arrest everyone who's seen a Sherlock Holmes movie or read a book. Eventually, we will purge society of these drug users....

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to pick up some anti-depressants at Walgreens.

[Niceguy1]

16. this was a federal enforcement

Not state

[calimary]

17. Crap!

K&R'd!

[msanthrope]

20. Um..his own security guards were selling drugs and he was apparently getting a cut.

Which is why he pled guilty.

[Billy Pilgrim]

22. I have not found anything to substantiate that claim.

He was charged with violating the Crack-House law, not with taking a cut of drug profits from his security guards.

If you have a link I'd appreciate it.

[msanthrope]

39. Read your own source. The feds bought from a security guard, and your perp was

depositing way....and I mean way...too much unaccounted for cash.

[dkf]

27. No. He made money off the festival which they said was because of the drug use.

profited handsomely from the popularity of his festival as a result. The plea agreement explicitly states that the government could not prove Tebeau himself ever bought or sold drugs.

[msanthrope]

40. Have you seen the plea agreement? If you haven't, then why would you take the word of

a criminal as to what's in it? FYI...the sentencing report is what you want to see.

[dkf]

47. Why do you assume they didn't see a copy of a doc when they wrote this article?

What access to verified documentation do you have?

[Warren Stupidity]

34. I'll take defense of the indefensible for 200 Alec.

[msanthrope]

41. I think the sale of methadone, X, shrooms is indefensible. nt

[tritsofme]

43. Between consenting adults?

I think the federal government probably has more important things to worry about.

[msanthrope]

44. Yes. There are some drugs that should be regulated. nt

[Warren Stupidity]

45. Methadone?

Generally the goto boogeyman drug is methedrine not methadone. You need to work on your drug warrior talking points.

Ecstasy and psilocybin are good examples of recreational drugs that should be regulated just as we regulate tobacco and alcohol. Instead they are criminalized, and consequently commercial transactions are in the unregulated black market.

[SomethingFishy]

49. And you should be the one to decide which drugs?

Gimme a fucking break. Judging from your posts you have no idea what the effects are of "Methadone" "X" or "Shrooms".

Oh and by the way "methadone" is not a street drug, it's a synthetic used to help addicts detox from the physically addicting properties of Heroin..

[msanthrope]

51. I've had clients go to jail for their methadone sales/buys. It is a 'street drug'....

hell..what opiate isn't? I'm pretty good with the rest of the drugs listed being illegal.

[Jamastiene]

23. K&R

That is ridiculous. for exposure.

[Shankapotomus]

24. If I ever want to get away with a crime

I'll make sure to do it on his property.

[treestar]

25. That article does not say what the law was exactly

The best approximation to be found:

Crack house statute is a federal statute codified in 21 USC § 856 which makes it a felony to knowingly open, lease, rent, use, or maintain any place for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance. It permitted the Justice Department to prosecute property owners who knowingly and intentionally allowed others to use their property to hold events for the purpose of distributing or using drugs. For example, it was used to prosecute people such as motel owners and car repair shop owners who knowingly and intentionally allowed their premises to be used for drug distribution. The statute is amended by the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act of 2003 which makes it more feasible to successfully prosecute rogue event promoters.

http://definitions.uslegal.com/c/crack-house-statute/

[HiPointDem]

42. 'rogue event promoters' says it all. i bet people are selling and using drugs at mainstream

venues too -- but i doubt they're going to prosecute ticketmaster.

[treestar]

50. The knowingly and intelligently requirement

is going to be tough to prove for the case in the OP. Generally it is probably a bear, but the lead singer of the band, come on, is quite unlikely to be knowingly in on drug dealing. Everyone "knows" there are drug dealers there but not in the sense the statute seems to require. Ticket-master would be even harder to have a case on - there's no way they are in on the drug deals as they don't have to be to make a buck.

[dkf]

26. Overreach. It's so easy to misuse the law if you are so inclined.

Parse it all to pieces and manipulate it beyond recognition. Sad.

[klyon]

28. I went to their website... they are really good

sorry to hear about this bull shit
If they apply this law anyone that provides a venue for festivals and rock shows could get arrested.
Did they confiscate his property? I didn't see that in the article.
When I lived in the St Louis area I followed a Dead cover band called Whitehorse. They played all over the area. Many times at Chuck Berry's place out in Wentsville. He had lots of problems with underage drinking and got shut down from time to time.

[SwissTony]

29. Wasn't there a story some months ago about a motel owner being busted

because drugs were apparently being sold in the rooms of the motel?

Who would have guessed?

[Dragonfli]

31. Next you'll be telling me some were committing adultery in the rooms

Bad hotel owner forcing good folk to commit adultery!

[WillyT]

30. K & R !!!

[NightWatcher]

33. Pot in some form is legal in 12 states. Stop the Pot Wars

The Feds should fire all employees of the DEA.

[Fuddnik]

35. Tell my nephew to get the fuck out of St. Louis.

He plays lead guitar for the Pink Floyd cover, El Monstero.

[L0oniX]

36. So rich high rise building owners can be jailed for leasing million $ flats to drug dealers?

[burnodo]

37. Kick

[MrModerate]

38. Well, the law is terrible, but only in the sense that . . .

The state shouldn't be interfering with the intoxicants its citizens chose to imbibe unless the resulting intoxication poses a risk to the public.

That having been said, it does seem as if Tebeau is guilty of "maintaining a drug-involved premises" as described in the article.

However, the relief from such injustice is to fix the overarching prohibition laws, which cause much more damage than ruining the life of a single person.

[MadrasT]

46. This is ridiculous, but the title seems inaccurate.

Shouldn't it be something like: "Property Owner Goes To Prison Because People On His Property Sell Drugs To One Another"?

[Liberal_in_LA]

48. kick