Thread: Arizona seeks funding for border security projects

Arizona seeks funding for border security projects

Colin Lecher -
June 22, 2010 07:50 PM
The Arizona Republic

Applications for grant money toward U.S.-Mexico border security projects will be sent out this week to law enforcement agencies in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.

Money received from the grants will go to new law enforcement projects in the border states, with each guaranteed at least $7 million, according to a statement from the Arizona Attorney General's Office.

The projects will be funded by a $94 million settlement that Attorney General Terry Goddard reached this year with Western Union. Of that $94 million, $50 million is being allocated to border enforcement in the Southwest through the Center for State Enforcement of Antitrust and Consumer Protection Laws Inc., a not-for-profit that works on law enforcement projects with state attorneys general.

The grant money will be used to investigate and prosecute money-laundering, human-trafficking, drug-smuggling and arms-trafficking crimes, according to the statement. It will also fund officer training in the U.S. and Mexico.

Each grant application will be evaluated by representatives from the Attorneys General's Offices each. In Arizona, with representatives from the state Department of Public Safety, state Department of Financial Institutions and the Phoenix Police Department also will participate.

Funds will also go toward funding a "border prosecution team" of 10-12 investigators and prosecutors based in Tucson, the statement said.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/ ... -abrk.html

94-50 mill. something does not add up. And about the money thats going to Mexican drug cartel / law enforcement. I think not. Its our money let the people decide what it is needed for. Like 50 cals. on the border. Where is that other pesky 45mill. ?

Originally Posted by airdale

94-50 mill. something does not add up. And about the money thats going to Mexican drug cartel / law enforcement. I think not. Its our money let the people decide what it is needed for. Like 50 cals. on the border. Where is that other pesky 45mill. ?

Western Union Settlement Terms

Feb. 12, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Under the terns of the settlement, Western Union will spend:

• $50 million to create the Southwest Border Anti-Money Laundering Alliance. The task force will be run by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Texas and New Mexico, plus the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Department of Financial Institutions and the Phoenix Police Department. The money will go toward investigations focused on international money-laundering rings with ties to violent organizations and gunrunning. Federal agencies will advise and cooperate with the new task force, based in Phoenix, but won't initially be full members.

• $21 million to reimburse Arizona for a decadelong investigation and legal costs from the Western Union lawsuits. The money will pay for investigations of money launderers and smugglers in Arizona and will be split among the three agencies that have led the ongoing laundering investigations: the Attorney General's Office, Phoenix police and the DPS.

• $19 million to improve Western Union's internal-security measures to combat money laundering. Arizona has prosecuted some Western Union employees and store-franchise holders as corrupt conspirators in money-laundering cases. A Scottsdale man who owned two Valley Western Union stores agreed to pay $4.2 million in civil fines. Western Union's chief compliance officer, Joseph Cache, said the money will be used to monitor franchisees, research suspicious-transaction patterns and share findings with investigators.

• $4 million for an independent monitor, appointed by the Maricopa County Superior Court, to scrutinize Western Union's anti-money-laundering efforts for anywhere from 29 to 41 months.

In addition, four remaining civil cases were dismissed.

Both Western Union and state authorities said they are confident that innocent customers' privacy won't be violated by investigators' ability to sift through and seize money transfers. Any seizures will need to be approved by a judge.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... izona.html

Thank you.