Background – On June 23, 2005 the US Supreme Court handed down the 5-4 Kelo decision favoring the defendant City of New London Connecticut over the plaintiffs, Suzette Kelo and a group of her neighbors.
The city, citing the the long established right of government to seize property, under eminent domain, had attempted to take real estate the plaintiffs owned and give it to a developer who proposed to upgrade the property.

Although it was not unusual for real estate to be taken for a “public use”, there was no clear public use since the property was being taken from one private party and given to another. The city prevailed when it claimed that the tax base would be increased by the action and as a consequence, the community in general would benefit. This was referred to as a “public purpose”.

The Kelo decision opened the door to governing entities seizing property of one member of the public and giving it to another in what appears to be a clear violation of the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution.

Kelo was a widely unpopular decision. It is still the law of the land although many states have enacted legislation aimed at countering it. The fact was that in many localities it is not unusual for voting members of local boards and councils to accept bribes in return for votes. That’s unfortunate, but it’s a fact borne out by conviction of those corrupt officials. Prior to Kelo, corruption primarily focused on contracts and on zoning.

Contract awards were the more difficult of the two to get away with. There was always a losing bidder who could blow a whistle if an irregularity was provable.

Rezoning, was and is the corrupt vehicle of choice. In the West where it was not unusual for a developer to convert a piece of raw land into a shopping center or housing tract, it was not difficult to slip through a zoning for a corrupting landowner.

It was a paper operation that overtly cost nobody a dime and as a consequence got little attention. That is, if a piece of raw land could be rezoned for high density residential use, its market value could be increased 600% to 800%. All that could be done without a shovel of dirt being turned. The owner of the rezoned land could then put it on the market and sell it for a huge profit. The crooked politician who voted for the rezoning would, of course, be paid for his dirty work. So when Kelo was decided, there was an in-place cadre of corrupt politicians to pick up the new ball and run with it.

Although there were a few oblique references to the possibility that a corrupt local body might now use eminent domain and “public purpose” to force the transfer of real estate from one owner to another, that was never a serious consideration in Kelo.

Some will read this and conclude that I am a cynic and there is no basis for my distrust of dedicated public officials.

I would point out that with all the local city and county officials who have been convicted of corruption in misusing their office, they should be entitled to their own cellblock of a prison.

My friend, former Las Vegas City Councilman, Steve Miller, tells how he was indoctrinated into the City Council. It was explained to him that if he voted for a certain zone change, he would be able to buy a piece of land “at cost”. On the surface that didn’t sound like a bribe until it was explained to him that “at cost” was defined as “the cost 30 years ago!” Some readers will say that Las Vegas is widely known as a city plagued by criminal elements that it is the exception rather than the rule.

Unfortunately, it is easy to find evidence of similar local corruption throughout the country. In September 2007 former Ocean Township Mayor and Asbury Park New Jersey manager, Terrance Weldon was convicted of accepting $64,000 in bribes from developers. 11 city officials from Newark, Orange, Passaic, Patterson, and Pleasantville were indicted for bribery in a sting operation.

Just do a Google search for “Corrupt city and county officials”, you’ll find hits in Atlanta and Fulton County Georgia, New Orleans, Lubbock County Texas, Tacoma Washington, Lake City South Carolina, and Chicago Illinois on the first page of your search. Google reported 111,000 hits! Suffice to say, that given the Kelo decision it will be hard for many dishonest officials to avoid seizing the real estate of honest hard-working Americans.

The Problem – The people whose property is about to be seized under eminent domain retain counsel. Not surprisingly, the focus is almost immediately put upon getting fair value for the property being seized.
That is normally an appropriate approach if the seizure is truly one where the political body takes the real estate for “public use”. However, even in those cases one has to look at the impact of the proposed “public use” If for example, an adjacent property owner would benefit from the proposed seizure, there may be chicanery afoot. Those situations should be investigated and not summarily accepted as being without corruption.

However, the seizures that really stand out, are those where the property is being transferred from one private party to another. The problem is how to deal with those situations without spending a fortune.

The Solution – If bribery or other corrupt activities by governing officials favoring the seizure can be proved, the entire transaction can be derailed.
Our approach is to file suit and lawfully obtain access to computer storage devices such as hard drives held on computers or other digital devices. These days where an estimated 85% of all such business finds its way on to computers, there is a good chance of uncovering illegal an unethical relationships.

It is a team project, normally requiring the services of an attorney, an investigator and a computer forensic examiner. Since we are both investigators and computer forensic examiners we can fill two those requirements if the venue is in Nevada. In all other jurisdictions, we would be hired by the Licensed PI from that state