Being charged with rootballs and stalks

[David762]

Plus, that other User account ...

Plus, that other User account ...

I guess if they get that far and find that on your puter they'll have some serious questions like...OK where is it? LOL! That's when a thick skin helps. If they're asking they don't know and don't have the goods on you...time to smile in response

Thx for the info...helpful!

Plus, that other User account ... "belongs to someone else, Officer, an acquaintance visiting from out-of-state. Honest, I just use the computer for on-line games and porn." And you have that other User account to confirm your story. You could even use the TruCrypt software to "hide your porn from your girlfriend" -- all verifiable when you, under duress or court order, give Officer Friendly the different pass-phrase for your porn.

 

[Duplicate]

Must spread the rep before giving to S_S. Thanks for the replies David & Stress!

 

[David762]

I personally believe that the entire cryptography algorithms concept was corrupted upon conception because it was a US Government project all the way through.
Furthermore, I believe that PGP and all of the cryptography algorithms that are derived from the original source code (all of them) are more likely to be watched by the gov. because they know that the data being encrypted is data that people don't want other people to access. And the Government paid to create it AND holds a master key to the cryptography algorithms.
What better way to lure the sheep to the wolves party?

This is why I have more faith in open source software encryption, rather than private for-profit corporations who will always have one Federal government or the other demanding key-escrow or backdoors. The original OSS code can be scrutinized for backdoors, making that code more reliable regarding security. It is in the implementation of that open source software into someone's application that becomes questionable, IMHO.

BTW, PKP's patent on the RSA algorithm has expired in the USA.

 

[whodair]

delete browsing history !!

delete browsing history !!

 

[40AmpstoFreedom]

Defendant: "Sorry judge this was my first and last grow. A one time mistake. The room was so well put together because someone put it up for me. I met them online paid them in cash so I have no knowledge of how you can find this person."

Prosecutor: "Well that's not what all these pictures on your computer with gps coordinates embedded, time, and date stamped shows..."

Judge: "Well, it is obvious to me this has been a long career choice for you and I have no choice but to give you the maximum time as I see no reason or chance that you will discontinue your flagrant violations of the law."

Prosecutor: "Yay, I will probably get a promotion."

Depends what's on your puter regarding how much leverage. I mean are peeps recording transactions in Quickbooks or something? They'll probably take better pictures of your plants than you might have on your puter. In most every situation I know of directly never saw anything anybody had on their puter cause them problems. The leverage is the hard evidence. They throw everything they can at first and a lot of window dressing.

If they're breaking down your door then much more to worry about than your puter and doubt anyone will react fast enough in their shock to dispose of any incriminating puter evidence. Only thing would be something like a flash drive where everything is and you only have that in your puter when active on it. They took my med farm friend's puter with all his pics of his huge plants, info on the forum accounts he had, etc., and all that and never showed up even in their discovery info.

His bigger problem was the unrooted cuttings he yanked the day before, which they re-planted and took pics of, and the various piles of dead, crispy, whole plants. The pile of hash he had never was a problem really nor was the scale. In the end there was very little left that they actually squeezed him with. It was his laziness in cleaning up that was part of the problem. Keep your house like someone will walk in at any moment.

 

[Mountain]

Hey David762 - Any difference with security using Ubuntu or is it the encryption program itself that's the key?

A friend that does my computer work for me is into Ubuntu and said something about 128 bit encryption of the directories and that they'd be difficult, if not impossible, to crack?

 

[Stress_test]

I'm not nearly as familiar with Ubuntu so I'll let David answer that one if he is.

However I am aware that nearly ALL of the data encryption apps available commercially either use the same cryptography algorithms (or slightly modified versions thereof) as the original. Which is the major issue I see with them: US Government funded, controlled and regulated...

A lot of peeps here might recall my opposition of TOR as well? It too was originally US Government funded, controlled, and regulated, and as far I my research very likely still is.

 

[David762]

Ubuntu is just another flavor of Linux ...

Ubuntu is just another flavor of Linux ...

Hey David762 - Any difference with security using Ubuntu or is it the encryption program itself that's the key?

A friend that does my computer work for me is into Ubuntu and said something about 128 bit encryption of the directories and that they'd be difficult, if not impossible, to crack?

Ubuntu is just another flavor of Linux ... which can be made just as insecure as any flavor of MS Windows, if one tries. I'm not as familiar with Ubuntu as I am with Slackware, another Linux variant.
Slackware makes it easy to try out the very latest linux kernels, which many of the other variants don't always play with well. But Ubuntu is quite popular, which also means that it is easier to obtain support from fellow users than, say Slackware. I multi-boot my Mac laptop between OS X, Win XP Pro, Slackware, OpenBSD, and Solaris 10. I suppose I should find a 5 Gigabyte hole on my hard disk to install Ubuntu, as well.

No modern encryption methodology is any more secure than it's implementation -- that is to say, how well written the software is that uses that encryption. 128 bit encryption of directories sounds like the OS default, for a balance between security and speed. If you have a really fast processor and plenty of memory (> 2 Gigabytes), I would bump that up to 256 bit -- just a personal preference.

 

[Mountain]

Thx guys for that security info...honestly I'm not concerned about what I got going but will implement some things just to get up to speed. Also heard of aps for Android to encrypt a file and send back and forth to a recipient for more secure communication.

Back to the rootball thing...after what happened to my friend, which I was on the periphery of, I became anal about destroying any evidence of a plant remnant. Set a friend up and she was very lazy about removing garbage from her last grow and sometimes 2 grows...lol. That was a major accident waiting to happen. Nothing happened but my advice is get rid of your trash...and not on the street in your trash cans! D'Oh!

When I first heard the Feds added the dried, dead, crispy plants to his count I was like WTF?

 

[Stress_test]

Sorry Mountain... Didn't intend to hijack your thread.

 

[Mountain]

Sorry Mountain... Didn't intend to hijack your thread.

LOL!!! Threads are organic and need to flow like a river a bit IMO. That pic you posted looks a bit inorganic though...ha ha. Not my thread bro but I'm partly to blame for the hijack and detour. Still though a thumb drive seems the way to go if you've got things to 'hide'!

Seriously...have been involved in a situation where root balls mattered. We're talking a 2 year Fed sentence for those directly involved, loss of property, temporary loss of their children, etc. I helped tend that property, about an acre of canopy, and had a small garden down the street. They stole my 11 small plants, broke into my house (they were nice and actually used a key from the land lord but did see them try and pry a screen on a window open first I'm guessing), confiscated my passport, etc. So yeah I know about how root balls can fit into the mix.

It was all bullshit though...a Cali legal med garden covered in paperwork well under 100 plants and the family running it gave a lot of stuff away and any $ recouped went into production. They were far from living large. Still it was the Feds...and the dead, crispy plants ended up in the discovery documents...but in the end didn't matter and hope that's the same with the OP.

 

[chuckyoufarley]

wonder where the OP went hasnt posted

 

[Stress_test]

I never have understood what the problem is with getting rid of em.

I mean seriously, they aren't like a car body.
Just beat the dirt out of em and toss the stems in the stove or mulch em into the lawn when it's mowed.

I have always had a standing rule in my gardens: Nothing that isn't required to grow or isn't growing ever gets left around.
My garden is cleaner than my bed or bath rooms. I don't even leave dead leaves in my pots or on the stems. They are gone everyday.

I see people leaving rootballs and pots and bags of soil or my all time favorites; the boxes their lights came in and empty nute containers being used for something in the garage.

My whole point in this thread is that if you put data on a phone or computer or in your backyard (rootballs etc.) then it will eventually be found.
But if you just absolutely have to save those rootballs? Don't store em in you home or even near it.
Just like the security software; If you insist on using it then don't use the one that the Government designed and funded.

 

[Mountain]

wonder where the OP went hasnt posted

My guess is with 3 posts under that handle he's a different member here at IC and not wanting to broadcast what's happened...just a wild ass guess though...but if right a smart move.

 

[Mountain]

I never have understood what the problem is with getting rid of em.

My whole point in this thread is that if you put data on a phone or computer or in your backyard (rootballs etc.) then it will eventually be found.

But if you just absolutely have to save those rootballs? Don't store em in you home or even near it.

Just like the security software; If you insist on using it then don't use the one that the Government designed and funded.

I don't think most see them as a problem and therefore the lack of action disposing of remnants. They are more of a problem than frikkin pics on a puter especially when they skew your numbers way up.

I think security stuff like puter files dovetails a bit though but still the hard evidence is the deciding factor. Just say NO to rootballs...lol!

 

[David762]

I plead "mea culpa" re: thread hijack ...

I plead "mea culpa" re: thread hijack ...

LOL!!! Threads are organic and need to flow like a river a bit IMO. That pic you posted looks a bit inorganic though...ha ha. Not my thread bro but I'm partly to blame for the hijack and detour. Still though a thumb drive seems the way to go if you've got things to 'hide'!

Seriously...have been involved in a situation where root balls mattered. We're talking a 2 year Fed sentence for those directly involved, loss of property, temporary loss of their children, etc. I helped tend that property, about an acre of canopy, and had a small garden down the street. They stole my 11 small plants, broke into my house (they were nice and actually used a key from the land lord but did see them try and pry a screen on a window open first I'm guessing), confiscated my passport, etc. So yeah I know about how root balls can fit into the mix.

It was all bullshit though...a Cali legal med garden covered in paperwork well under 100 plants and the family running it gave a lot of stuff away and any $ recouped went into production. They were far from living large. Still it was the Feds...and the dead, crispy plants ended up in the discovery documents...but in the end didn't matter and hope that's the same with the OP.

I plead "mea culpa" re: thread hijack ...

But back to the original topic: root balls and other detris. When the DEA resorts to counting root balls and stalks (basically dead plant matter) toward the plant count limit, it sounds like they are getting really desperate to make those Federal cases. (Aside: I wonder if that is a reflection on the regional DEA head being given a quota to fill, or driven by the regional Federal prosecutor?)

That this is happening in a CA-legal MMJ environment speaks volumes about the true nature of the Obama regime and their fascist Police State goons -- either Obama & Holder & Kerlikowske are all lying through their teeth (my vote ) or the DEA has become a totally out-of-control Dr. Frankenstein's Monster. Considering that the very same Intelligence & LEO Architecture that is "fighting the domestic war on terror" is also being used to "fight the war on drugs" (Regional Fusion Centers, Patriot Act, etcetera), Obama is a "closet fascist".

And one of the first things that come to mind when I think of fascists is the iconic picture of Benito Mussolini (Il Duce) hanging from a lamp-post. He got His just rewards ...

 

[Mountain]

But back to the original topic: root balls and other detris. When the DEA resorts to counting root balls and stalks (basically dead plant matter) toward the plant count limit, it sounds like they are getting really desperate to make those Federal cases. (Aside: I wonder if that is a reflection on the regional DEA head being given a quota to fill, or driven by the regional Federal prosecutor?)

The case I was kind of involved in happened quite a few years ago so they've been doing it for awhile. The Feds initially wanted to charge me as a co-conspirator but never happened. For various reasons it would have watered their case down a bit. Initially the inflated plant count had mainly to do with the dead plants and aborted clones. In the end it was under 100 plants but the weight was the thing. One thing with the Feds is once they decide to pick up the case you're pretty much done and will get their pound of flesh somehow...at least from what I've seen and heard. What they've done to the OP is lame but appears to be a proven tactic. Most cases like this, from what I understand, never go to trial and are plead out. My friend got 2 and the peeps that decided to push the issue with similar cases from his area that summer got 5. Someone else just paid a fat fine and that's what they really wanted. Don't know the details of that case but met that dude and just around the corner.

I'd think the system has it's quotas but with the Cali med scene it just provides the Feds with a setup like shooting fish in a barrel.

 

[DasFox]

One thing with the Feds is once they decide to pick up the case you're pretty much done and will get their pound of flesh somehow...at least from what I've seen and heard. What they've done to the OP is lame but appears to be a proven tactic. Most cases like this, from what I understand, never go to trial and are plead out.

CORRECT...Pleads are because they HAVE you...NO OUTS...

Go to trial...LOOK OUT for the BOOK...

FEDS make it up as they go along...YOUR ass turns to GRASS...

THANKS

 

[Goodkarma]

Mollie Fry and Dale Shafer got prosecuted for conspiracy to grow over 100 plants. They got the 5 year mandatory. The Feds used the Eldorado County Sheriffs testimony that they had seen plants the two previous years, and that those plus the ones growing when they were raided added up to over 100. Moliie Fry was a Docter who wrote scripts and had breast cancer.
The cops came by each year to see that their numbers were legal for ElDorado county. When the numbers from the previous years,and the present year added up to over 100, they were arrested.
That is why you should NOT take pictures of your grow and you should destroy all evidence of previous grows. Oh and don't register with the local cops and then announce you are going to run for District Attorney

 

[David762]

Four words that may help ...

Four words that may help ...

CORRECT...Pleads are because they HAVE you...NO OUTS...

Go to trial...LOOK OUT for the BOOK...

FEDS make it up as they go along...YOUR ass turns to GRASS...

THANKS

Four words that may help ... "favorable venue" and "jury nullification".

You are between a rock and a hard place -- hope you have a good lawyer. Personally, if it were me, I would not plead this case out.
Take it to "a jury of your peers", if you have the "stones" for a fight.

Best of luck. I almost wish I were serving on your jury -- you would skate these bogus charges.