Police Raid on Vitolo's Home

Vape Dr.

Well-Known Member
Wow! I am so sorry for what you and your wife had to endure Vito.
This is truely the saddest thing i have ever had to read on FC.

This bullshit could not have happened to a nicer gentler soul. I am so upset I really have no words to describe how I feel. :(
Vito we are all here for you as you have always been here for us no matter what.
I have always looked up to you for all you have done and do for FC.
If there is anything at all you need PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK!

Thank you for sharing the awful news with us I know it was hard. I do feel better knowing you and your wife are OK now.

I think its time we all "pay it forward to Vito" to help get you your new water heater and furnace, these are necessities!

This is bullshit of the highest caliber!
Please tell me what I can do to help you and I'm on it Vito!
I am glad you both are OK after such a shitty ordeal that should have never happened in the first place.
 

natural farmer

Well-Known Member
So sad for what happened to you and your spouse Vito and even more sad that you are out of meds and feeling sick.
As one of many that your generosity made happier recently I will try to do anything to help if possible!

I am also waiting trial for a couple of trees that were growing in my backyard and what I feel for all this crazy stupid universal situation with cannabis just can't be communicated sufficiently! :bang: CRAZY!!!

I wish you all the best buddy!!!
 

Seren

Away with the fairies
I'm so very sorry, and horrified, to hear what you're being put through @Vitolo

You and Patty have helped, and brought comfort to, so many people. You, of all people, do not deserve to be treated like this.

My thoughts are with you both. You know we're all here for you, should you need us.
 

TeeJay1952

Well-Known Member
Makes you wonder about the effect of legalization. Did a dispensary call out Vito because his charity work interfered with sales? Did the cops pick Vito because he is a damn sight easier to pick on than the Bloods or Crips? Why aren't HIPPA laws violated as the cops look into Vito's lifestyle. Money in envelope is proof of dealing? The bone is on you to prove otherwise? Now where is Fox News and Tea Party when these Civil Rights are violated?
Vito, you are out of the closet. Bang the warning drums loudly. Call Denver papers and Action News reporters. Your story is our story. Damn this reminds me of the Aromazap story. Pointless, stupid and soul crushing. This has been my fear for 50 years.
 

Vapetologist

HamsterDAMAGED
Fight - its one of the things within you they can never take. As you have given so much to this community, its time for us to return the favor tenfold. We are with you, we are behind you - you can't see us but we are all around you. And we all love you very much.
 
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t-dub

Vapor Sloth
Did the cops pick Vito because he is a damn sight easier to pick on . . . Money in envelope is proof of dealing?
This is probably true. With civil forfeiture all they have to do is charge his property with a crime in order to seize it without due process. Unfortunately he will probably NEVER see anything they took again, and the COPS will enjoy using it to balance their budget.
Now where is Fox News and Tea Party when these Civil Rights are violated?
Fox News couldn't give a fuck about people who use cannabis. Neither does the Tea Party however the administration used the IRS to put most of them out of business. Both groups insist on projecting their archaic moral standards on the rest of us.
 

Rick

Zapman
OH dear Vito and Patty. Our heart,mind and soul are with you. I have not cried over sadness in so long. Sad tears are so different than happy tears. You have always brought happy tears to everybody.

And now this.......... A bunch of dirty rotten bastards are about to find out about Karma. The main culprit of course is whoever filed a complaint to start an investigation of you. Once the system gets a written complaint they must act on it. They also will carefully craft their investigation to support the complaint while ignoring facts that put down the complaint.

Couple things. What officers were in charge of the raid? Local cops, county or State cops? Was the DEA involved?

Having been through something like this I have a suggestion. FC family get together to set up some kind of funding for Vito and Patty. The main purpose of the funding is to hire the best pot attorney in Arizona. You need a hardball attorney. Throw it back at them with some real shit on the hardball. Nail them to their phoney cross. This case could be pivotal to the issue of legal marijuana. Whoever decided to bust Vito made a very big mistake that could cost LEO like no other mistake they have made. For that to happen Vito needs the best lawyer available. This case could be a candidate for pro-Bono legal help. Vito will have to put his OK on hardball legal help as it is up to him. A good lawyer can turn the establishment upside down and pee on them. In the end, this could cost the system lots of money and embarrassment and provoke a change in how those idiots do their job. A good lawyer will also get defense attorney fees reimbursed.
One last thing. Our personal civil forfeiture case for our real property was dismissed by Idaho "in the interests of and to further the cause of justice". Most of us do not know it but prosecutors swear to an oath to "promote justice". They are not SUPPOSED to be about convictions, they are supposed to be about justice. This is a civil rights case

What could be interesting is if you are even charged with anything. It took them over 4 months to charge us.
Our love and shared compassion are in your being now Vito as is the same with countless other fine people here on FC and everywhere.
 

t-dub

Vapor Sloth
One last thing. Our personal civil forfeiture case for our real property was dismissed by Idaho "in the interests of and to further the cause of justice"
You got lucky. I just read a story the other day where the COPS took an old guys life savings when he was moving to California. They pulled over his car and just took it. Same with a Mexican restaurant owner who made regular deposits in cash from her business. Drug pattern they said and stole every penny. And then there is this story I read this morning of how Evidence suggests that the Drug Enforcement agency routinely detains, searches, and then steals from train passengers under the guise of searching for drugs.

How the DEA Harasses Amtrak Passengers:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/how-the-dea-harasses-amtrak-passengers/393230/
 

Vicki

Herbal Alchemist
You got lucky. I just read a story the other day where the COPS took an old guys life savings when he was moving to California. They pulled over his car and just took it. Same with a Mexican restaurant owner who made regular deposits in cash from her business. Drug pattern they said and stole every penny. And then there is this story I read this morning of how Evidence suggests that the Drug Enforcement agency routinely detains, searches, and then steals from train passengers under the guise of searching for drugs.

How the DEA Harasses Amtrak Passengers:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/how-the-dea-harasses-amtrak-passengers/393230/

All this shit makes me feel like the America we knew is gone. Welcome to the new police state. :disgust:
 
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t-dub

Vapor Sloth
There was a documentary I watched on civil forfeiture and in that show, these cops were not allowed to use the money to balance the books but it was more like mad money where they could buy what they want. Like margarita machines, tanning beds, ect
From the article you just quoted . . .
So law enforcement has a strong incentive to pad their budgets . . .
I also read somewhere they are using the money to help fund police pensions . . .
 

Rick

Zapman
"All is fair in love and war".
This is a war against harmless happy people.
In their war against us, they will lie and lie. They will appear in court and in front of a judge, they will lie. They will tell the judge whatever is required to get a search warrant. They have no use for the truth because this is war. The only truth to them is to take down anybody involved with any drugs, whether legally used or not. I say this from first hand experience. It is apparently legal for officers of the court to lie to other officers of the court.

Now reality. Vito, your challenge immediately is to keep your family together and singing the right song together. A big part of LEOs job is to disrupt your life. They know they probably cannot get you on much if anything but if they can make your life miserable(but you have to let them do that), they are happy. In our case it took some serious family communication to keep sane and relatively happy. You kind of have to step out of the picture and look at it from outside to see it clearly. It is natural at these times for some of us to say hurtful things about loved ones "who caused this". This will pass.
 

Joel W.

Deplorable Basement Dweller
Accessory Maker
From the article you just quoted
Not trying to argue with myself, lmao... but I will find the documentary tonight because in that show, they did not want to pad their budgets because they wanted more of that money also. Just greed... and they have the cop on tape admitting it. Cops suck!
Edit.
Video

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=hbxcVZzCDcb2oASh5oCoCQ&url=http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ipHUN-xLLms&ved=0CCAQtwIwAQ&usg=AFQjCNG_Kc3qIJ9nsGSAnSaCQMRSD3aTfQ&sig2=kgkovH48T3yQ4yFO5psHgg
 
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t-dub

Vapor Sloth
these cops were not allowed to use the money to balance the books
Just watched your video and it didn't say the COPS were not allowed to use the money to pad their budget. He said that they liked to use the money for things they wouldn't normally be able to get within the budget.
The Police said:
We base this on something that would be nice to have, something we can't get in the budget . . . its kinda like pennies from heaven.
 

Ed's TnT

Woodsman
Manufacturer
Oh my Vito, I am at a loss my friend, I really am. We go back a long way, you, me and many others here. You have always been my guy and will forever be, I am here for you and Patty however I can. I got an ear out to one of our good friends for updates until I see any here. My heart goes out to you two, yall are in my prayers and I await your post!
 

underdog

shade-tree vapor engineer
Manufacturer
@Vitolo - Oh man I'm sorry this happened to you Vito, no one deserves this kind of shit and even more so you don't deserve it when you work so hard to make other peoples lives (and the world) a better place. It makes me frustrated, sad and furious to know what you've gone thru already and what bullshit may still come.

I don't know what, if any, kind of help you need and if it's something we could help provide but if there is something please don't hesitate to ask either here or thru PM if need be.

Maybe we can help with some kind of fundraiser for you?

Once you get thru this maybe we can donate a bunch of vapes to help replenish your inventory?
 

grokit

well-worn member
The main culprit of course is whoever filed a complaint to start an investigation of you. Once the system gets a written complaint they must act on it.
From what I have been reading, they don't even need a formal complaint. All they need is an "anonymous tip", which could just be the sharing of incriminating information from the nsa's phone taps to the dea (or whatever agency), then right on down to local law enforcement's jack-booted, militarized thugs.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/05/us-dea-sod-idUSBRE97409R20130805

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennife...r-government-time-for-a-special-prosecutor-2/

It's a shitty can of worms :shit::worms:
 

Vitolo

Vaporist
I am overwhelmed by what I have read here.
I am sorry I have not written back between your flood of supportive love.
I have not been able.
Too much happening here.
I wanted to respond to each post.. you know the fancy way that @Ed's TnT always answers each post ... and they way I try to do when I am OK.
I am not
I have not slept in a couple of days, so forgive me.
No quotes or anything fancy.
Love you Rick and Pat, and Mom... Dave and Randy.... paka....Vicki,
Nick, Madcap, sticks, Melting, Reflections, Joel, t-dub, VapeHunter, Veg, Scott, Kid, SSVUN, Stu... Been, max, Ahbe, grok, Old Fart (lwien), Slow, Vape Dr, Natural farmer, seren, Bvapst.....
I read it all
and could not respond.
I am overwhelmed.
I altered my signature to carry anyone to a safe paypal address.
I love you all. Patty does too.
We have not let go of each other since then, and have not slept either.
Patty can not close her eyes without jumpming.
I cant see straighyt but I promise to make a sensible post tomorrow.
 
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