[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 40 (Monday, March 12, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1577-S1579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. DURBIN:
S. 2183. A bill to provide funding for the Fugitive Extradition and
Apprehension Trust Fund; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I am introducing legislation today that
will help address the serious problem of fugitives who commit violent
crimes in the United States and then flee to foreign countries.
This problem was highlighted by a recent investigative series in the
Chicago Tribune newspaper. The Tribune reported on a number of horrible
crimes that were allegedly committed in Illinois by suspects who now
live openly in foreign countries. The Tribune identified at least 129
criminal suspects who have fled from northern Illinois over the last
decade who remain at-large abroad. This problem appears to be growing
steadily as our world becomes increasingly interconnected. The stories
in the Tribune series are heartbreaking.
Here is one example. In 2000, 19-year-old Alma Chavez was living in
Pilsen with her family and studying to become a nurse. After she broke
up with her boyfriend, Raul Andrade Tolentino, he came looking for her
one early morning at her house. As he later confessed, Tolentino
stabbed Alma several times with a knife. As she lay dying in her living
room, Alma called 911, and the police responded and found Tolentino.
After he was arrested, Tolentino was then released on a $20,000 bond.
Just over a month later, Tolentino fled Illinois and eventually went to
Mexico.
Intent on bringing his daughter's killer back to the U.S. justice
system, Alma's father Bonifacio Chavez repeatedly went to Mexico,
spending his money to track down leads on Tolentino and interview
informants to learn his whereabouts. Even though Alma's father
eventually found Tolentino's new town in Mexico, and U.S. authorities
issued an arrest warrant in 2007, Bonifacio Chavez died without seeing
Tolentino face the murder charge in Illinois. To this day, Tolentino
remains free, and the rest of the Chavez family is still waiting for
him to be prosecuted.
This is just one of the many cases brought to light by the Tribune
series. What has struck me most about these international fugitive
cases is the deep
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sense of injustice, prolonged grief, and sometimes fear that victims
like the Chavez family experience. They suffer not just from the
original crime, but also from the years they spend waiting, sometimes
fruitlessly, for those responsible to face justice.
Illinois is not alone in experiencing a problem with international
fugitives. This affects states across our country. In 2003, the Justice
Department estimated that there were several thousand U.S. fugitives
located abroad but only 1,413 were being sought for extradition. These
numbers are unacceptable, and we must do more to ensure that these
fugitives are captured and brought back.
When a criminal suspect flees across our country's border, it often
requires the involvement of the local police or sheriffs, the local
prosecutor, the U.S. Marshals, FBI, the Justice Department, INTERPOL,
and usually some combination of these agencies, to track down and
extradite the suspect. These proceedings can be complicated, lengthy,
and expensive. And when the agencies involved do not cooperate
effectively, information can get lost between them or the process can
become stalled for years.
In January, I hosted a summit in Chicago to discuss ways to improve
the apprehension and extradition of international fugitives. In
attendance were Deputy Attorney General James Cole, U.S. Attorney
Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. Marshal Darryl McPherson, Cook County State's
Attorney Anita Alvarez, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, and
representatives from numerous other Federal, State and local agencies.
With all of the stakeholders together in one room, we identified
several key steps that would improve the situation, including more
training for local agencies on handling fugitive cases; improved
tracking of these cases; increased coordination between federal, state
and local agencies; more resources dedicated to fugitive cases; and
removing barriers to extradition with other countries.
It was a very constructive meeting. I am pleased to report that
progress is being made on all of these fronts. This week the Justice
Department will hold two International Fugitive Apprehension Trainings
for Chicago-area law enforcement and prosecutors. The trainings, led by
the U.S. Attorney's Office, will give guidance to local agencies on how
to locate international fugitives and bring them to justice.
To track fugitive cases better, many of the Illinois law enforcement
agencies and prosecutor offices have committed to reviewing their
fugitive cases to ensure that their investigations and files are up-to-
date. This will ensure that cases do not fall off the radar screen.
At the summit, I learned that local agencies were not sure which
federal agency they should turn to first for assistance in a fugitive
case. That question has now been answered by the Justice Department.
The U.S. Marshals have been designated the first point of contact for
Illinois agencies with fugitive cases.
Also, the summit highlighted how information-sharing and coordination
between Federal, State and local agencies has been a problem in the
past. But that is being improved. The Great Lakes Regional Fugitive
Task Force, based in Chicago, is led by the U.S. Marshals and provides
a major source of information, resources and support to local law
enforcement agencies in Illinois. The Task Force also helps provide
much-needed funding to our local law enforcement agencies to buy
equipment such as cars and radios and to pay for overtime. This type of
funding is critical to ensuring that agencies can devote the resources
needed to investigate and prosecute complicated and expensive fugitive
cases.
Right now, our Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies are
doing the best they can with limited budgets during these difficult
times. Giving them a little extra help will go a long way towards
improving their collaboration and their enforcement. We can provide
this help at the federal level by increasing the funding for the
primary agencies that take part or assist local agencies in the capture
and extradition of international fugitives--the U.S. Marshals, U.S.
Attorneys, and the Office of International Affairs.
The bill I am introducing today, the Bringing Justice to Fugitives
Act, would allow the Attorney General to use the money from forfeited
bonds in federal criminal cases for these agencies' fugitive
apprehension efforts.
Under the bill, this money can be used by the U.S. Marshals to
enhance their fugitive task forces and investigations. It can be used
by U.S. Attorney's Offices to conduct trainings and pursue
prosecutions. And it can be used by the Justice Department's Office of
International Affairs to enhance extradition efforts.
The amount of money involved is not huge--around $1 3 million per
year is collected in federal bond forfeiture money. But a little money
can go a long way in fugitive cases. Right now, the money from
forfeited bonds is deposited into the Crime Victims Fund. It makes up
just a tiny fraction of the total Fund. Dedicating these forfeited bond
funds for fugitive apprehensions will help victims by bringing more
perpetrators to justice without unduly sacrificing any of the programs
which receive money from the Crime Victims Fund.
My legislation does not touch any of the other sources of funding for
the Crime Victims Fund, and I will work closely with crime victim
support groups to ensure that their efforts are not hindered by this
legislation.
The bill also establishes an important principle that when criminal
suspects flee, we will use their forfeited bond money to arrest them
and bring them back. The victims of fugitive crimes deserve that
justice. Because most fugitives are prosecuted by states, this
legislation also plays a critical role by serving as a model for states
to follow.
I hope that the state and local jurisdictions will take similar
action by pursuing steps to make bond forfeiture funds available for
fugitive capture and extradition. The bottom line is that when people
are hurt by violent crime, often one of their first wishes is to see
their perpetrator go through the criminal justice process. The Bringing
Fugitives to Justice Act will help these victims by guaranteeing that
our law enforcement agencies will step up their efforts to capture more
fugitives and bring them to justice.
Finally, I want to mention that I am working to remove barriers to
extradition that the Tribune series highlighted. For example, the
Tribune pointed out that our extradition treaty with Mexico should be
revisited so that U.S. crimes like reckless homicide can be treated as
extraditable offenses. We also need to address differences in the two
countries' statute of limitations periods, which can limit extradition
in some cases.
I met at the end of February with the Mexican Ambassador, Arturo
Sarukhan, to discuss the need to work on these aspects of our
extradition treaty. The Ambassador, and Mexico in general, have been
constructive partners in our extradition efforts, and I am grateful for
this positive relationship. I also urged the Ambassador to make sure
that the cases highlighted by the Tribune were being pursued to the
best of Mexico's ability. While I cannot share any details about
specific cases, I am reassured that that message has been received.
In short, while international fugitive cases still pose many
challenges, we are continuing to work to improve the system at the
state, local, Federal and international level. We are making progress,
and the legislation I am introducing today will help.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 2183
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Bringing Fugitives to
Justice Act''.
SEC. 2. FUGITIVE EXTRADITION AND APPREHENSION TRUST FUND.
(a) Fugitive Extradition and Apprehension Trust Fund.--
(1) In general.--There is created in the Treasury a
separate account to be known as the Fugitive Extradition and
Apprehension Trust Fund (referred to in this section as the
``trust fund''). There shall be deposited in the trust fund
the proceeds of forfeited appearance bonds, bail bonds, and
collateral collected under section 3146 of title 18, United
States Code.
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(2) Use of funds.--Amounts deposited in the trust fund
pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be obligated and expended by
the Attorney General for the following purposes:
(A) To the United States Marshals Service to enhance
efforts to investigate and apprehend fugitives from justice.
(B) To the Offices of the United States Attorneys to
enhance efforts to investigate and prosecute fugitives from
justice.
(C) To the Office of International Affairs in the
Department of Justice to coordinate the investigation and
extradition or other legal rendition of international
fugitives from justice.
(3) Reallocation.--Any portion of an amount available under
this subsection which is not obligated by the Attorney
General by the end of the fiscal year in which funds are made
available for allocation, shall be reallocated for award in
the next fiscal year.
(b) Fiscal Year.--Amounts shall be deposited in the trust
fund established in subsection (a) beginning in fiscal year
2013.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE CRIME VICTIMS FUND.
Section 1402(b) of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42
U.S.C. 10601) is amended by--
(1) striking paragraph (3); and
(2) redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs (3)
and (4).
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