Free Mule by Tony D'Souza Page A

amount and they'll file the CTR on you. They'll always have that on file, there's nothing you can do about it. But you can't do anything else to draw attention to yourself. You're taking out the money to buy a car, you know they have to file a report. It's going to be the only time you'll register on their system. You have to concede them that one thing.
    "Get a receipt, keep it. Because if you get pulled over when you are bringing the money out here to buy your car, the bad guys are going to take that money away from you and hold it until you can prove it's legally yours. You know the bad guys are out there on the roads trying to get the money, don't you? The whole thing is about the money, that's all they really want. Half the time they just steal it from us, and the rest of the time they're allowed to keep eighty percent of whatever they take—it's how they buy their equipment. It's a bitch to get the money back if they seize it. Most people don't even try. It's a civil case, no arrest, people are glad to just walk away and let the money go. Usually, nobody has a way to prove it's theirs in the first place. But you will, James. You'll have that receipt from the bank."
    "I don't have time to drive out there, Darren. I'm planning on getting on a plane, coming back in a rental car."
    Darren was quiet for a moment. He said, "That's not a good idea. The one thing's driven out, the money's driven back. It's a continuous loop, and that's the way it's done. Building that loop is everyone's goal. Think about everything being moved out there on the roads. Now think about how much money is coming back. That's what you have to do. Two parts to the drive. Four days across, four days back. You celebrate a day or two at the end, and then you do it again."
    "I'm not doing it that way. I don't have time for that."
    "You'd better not let them see the money at the airport. They can ‘civil forfeiture' it from you there, too."
    "Civil forfeiture?"
    "They figure anyone with that kind of cash is up to something. They wrote the forfeiture laws to let them take large amounts. If they take your money, you'll spend months in court trying to get it back. So figure out a way to get it on the plane without letting them see it. Otherwise, you're done.
    "Another thing about the money you're going to take out of the bank: most banks don't have that kind of money on hand, people never make withdrawals like that. You have to call ahead and arrange a pickup time. The banks get their cash deliveries once or twice a week and have to put in special orders for large amounts. So with the schedule you're on, you have to call them today, get it sorted out. Because it could take them three or four days to have it. Then they are going to want you to come in at a certain time to pick it up. You'll have to sign some documents, a waiver saying you know it's not safe to have such a large amount, that you don't hold the bank responsible if you get ripped off on the way home. And there's one last thing you need to know. If they are suspicious of you, if the teller or manager you deal with has any kind of hunch, they're supposed to file an SAR, a Suspicious Activity Report. That's definitely something you don't want. So you have to have your story straight and you have to be cool once you're in there. They're not looking for someone like you, they're looking for hoods and terrorists. But it only takes one cowboy minimum-wage motherfucker, and he'll file the SAR. Then who knows? They don't even tell you they're filing it.
    "One more thing before you get out here and Billy will sit down with you and tell you more. A paper trail is more than just money. It's phone records, receipts, credit card activity, e-mails, even the sites you visit on your computer. Try to use stuff that's not connected to your name whenever you can. If you're using your own gear, wipe it every chance you get. Go to Wal-Mart and pay cash for a TracFone, they only cost thirty bucks. And when you