NCJ Number
144303
Journal
Narc Officer Dated: (October 1990) Pages: 31,33
Date Published
1990
Length
2 pages
Annotation
The Racketeering Records Analysis Unit (RRAU) of the Laboratory Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation reviews records of various clandestine businesses, specifically those involving drugs, money laundering, gambling, loan sharking, and prostitution.
Abstract
Illicit drug businessmen, like legitimate businessmen, keep records in order to determine income and profits; the records relate to inventory, profit/loss, dates of transactions, monies owed, and payments made by customers. However, these records are normally maintained in a cryptic or abbreviated fashion, not understandable by persons other than the writer. RRAU examiners are trained to decipher these cryptic notations and to document their findings in a forensic report. Analysts may also testify in court regarding the overall operation of the drug business involved. Analyses of money laundering records have revealed the counting of currency by denomination as well as notations on otherwise legitimate business documents which have allowed the RRAU to trace the flow of money through ledger book entries, bank deposits, wire transfers, money orders, adding machine tapes, invoices, receipts, checks, and bills of lading. Expert testimony by RRAU examiners has been used in Federal prosecutions, State and local criminal matters, and civil forfeiture hearings.