Scott Feil Medical Marijuana Warrior Targeted by the Obama Administration fightfederalinjustice.com Submitted by: fightfederalinjustice
2011-03-17 21:39:33
(OPENPRESS) March 17, 2011 -- Scott Feil is a family man with four children and one grandchild. He's a small businessman in his native California where he owns a couple of hotels and several other businesses. Scott raced in NASCAR in the late 80's and continued to race short tracks into the 90's- a regular, all-American guy. Feil is also being persecuted by the United States government because he had the "nerve" to facilitate putting sick people in contact with doctors who could give them cannabis recommendations. After the government tried to prosecute him for doing that, Feil fought back in what resulted in the landmark decision in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals: UNITED STATES v. $186,416. This case was at it's heart a forfeiture case in which Scott Feil BEAT the US government and got his money back. Now the Feds are after Scott again in what looks more like revenge than any recognizable law-enforcement action… but this time they want everything Scott Feil and his family have ever worked for and they want to throw Feil and his wife Diana into prison for up to 20 years.
In 1998 Scott Feil was already a successful businessman running one of the largest janitorial service companies in California. When Scott's father passed away in 1998 leaving him some cash, Scott did what many people do at that point in their lives. He took a moment for reflection then decided that he wanted to spend his time, not just making money, but in helping other human beings. A Northern California native, Soctt opened a facility in Ukiah, California that provided a place for patients who needed consultations and treatment to meet with cannabis friendly doctors and get recommendations and be properly diagnosed and medicated. By 2002 there were folks in Southern California who saw what Feil had done in Ukiah and wanted him to bring that model down South so that already-ill patients didn't have to make the drive all of the way north for diagnosis and treatment.
Before Scott opened this facility he checked with the FBI, the DEA, the Sheriff of LA County, the Mayor's office, and the Chief of Police in Las Angeles. All told him that the facility he was proposing to open was legal under California Law. United Medical Caregivers Clinic Inc. opened and began seeing patients in 2003.
March 15th 2005 UMCC was raided by the LAPD They seized all the collectives medical marijuana Police also took $186,416.00 from the members reserve. No criminal charges were filed, but the local PD tried to hold onto the cash. Feil fought back. In his declaration to the court Feil stated that to while the money was related to UMCC's business- all of that business was legal under California law. By late August of 2005 the State court forced the LAPD to release the money back to Feil. In this decision the court noted that the search warrant affidavits filed by the LAPD had been, "Misleading" and were filled with "Reckless" omissions as to the status of UMCC as a legal facility.
On September 12, 2005 the feds filed to seize UMCC's money claiming that they could prove the money was obtained in violation of Federal Law. Feil's attorney's countered that because the court had ruled the initial search warrants were obtained with no consideration of California State Law and because they were obtained with what had been determined to be a dishonest affidavit that the evidence found during the March 15th raid was null and void.
The case would drag on in court for the next four years. In the mean time Scott sold UMCC to his father-in-law, Steve Swanson (a 35 year veteran of the NYPD), and refinanced his home in order to buy a hotel. While Scott, and his family went to work in the hospitality industry Mr. Swanson ran UMCC until he too closed it down in 2007.
Flash forward to August of 2009. Agents of the DEA, the FBI, and the IRS dressed out in tactical gear busted into Scott Feil's home pointing guns at everyone including his ten-year old son. They threw Feil into jail (he would not be able to bond out until a month later) and charged him, his wife Diana, ex-policeman Swanson, and three other people with a laundry list of offenses going back to the UMCC. This was BEFORE the October 2009 decision in the 186,416 v United States Case. Feil won that case. This win not only returned the money to Scott, but it set the legal precedent that warrants obtained by local police that violated State laws would no be admissible as evidence in Federal cases.
In spite of this, and possibly because of it, the Federal Government is continuing their case against Scott and the others related to UMCC. On March 9th 2011 Feil once more enters a California courtroom with the Feds on his case. In that hearing, Scott's lawyers will be presenting evidence of prosecutorial misconduct as well as entering what is known as an EPIC motion. This is a motion targeted at forcing the government to release Scott Feil's federal DEA file held that is held at a facility known as the El Paso Intelligence Center.
Right now this case is not widely known as has not been covered by other media. Please get the word out. Another brother and victim of the Drug War is about to have his day in court and it is in everyone's interest to get behind Scott Feil and his family.
