Mugged by the State: Outrageous Government Assaults on Ordinary People and their Property [Hardcover]

Randall Fitzgerald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2003

It's a scandal--the misguided government policies and overzealous enforcement that have victimized ordinary Americas. That is the story Randall Fitzgerald tells in this book.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Investigative reporter Randall Fitzgerald has traveled the country meeting ordinary, innocent Americans with horrifying stories of how they have lost their homes, land, businesses, bank accounts, cars, and other assets to federal, state, and local government.

Thanks to out-of-control regulations, property can be seized, impounded, and sold without recompense to the rightful and innocent owner. And as Randall Fitzgerald points out, it could happen to you.

This shocking book reveals:

-How developer Donald Trump used a state agency to try to confiscate a widow's home whose land he coveted for a casino parking lot

-How a family in New York was unable to move into their newly bought house because of a change in the state housing laws, costing them an eight-year battle and $700,000

-How the FDA shut down a Maine fish business because its processing methods were allegedly a life-threatening health hazard-but allowed Canadian firms to sell fish in the United States processed exactly the same way

-How a Utah cattle rancher was threatened with fines after wild birds found nesting on his ranch were thought to be eating an endangered species of snail

-Why few victims contest their treatment (and it's not because they're guilty)

-Proof that enforcement quotas-and fundraising incentives-lead to unjustified property seizures

-How corporate America cuts itself in on the racket

-How to fight back effectively if you or someone you know becomes ensnared in the regulatory spider web

Randall Fitzgerald chronicles a clear and disturbing pattern of government abuse that has gone woefully unchallenged. Mugged by the State is a warning, a call to arms, and a practical manual of self-defense.

About the Author

Randall Fitzgerald was a Reader's Digest contributing editor for twenty years and is now a full-time freelance writer. His articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Capitol Hill News, the Houston Post, and other publications.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc. (November 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895261022
• ISBN-13: 978-0895261021
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,549,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alarming, August 9, 2004

By 

P. Murray (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mugged by the State: Outrageous Government Assaults on Ordinary People and their Property (Hardcover)

You could be "Mugged by the War on Drugs" because the government wants to raise revenue. Fitzgerald quotes "Steven Kessler, who once headed the district attorney's asset forfeiture unit in the Bronx, New York. `The focus is no longer on combating crime. It's on fundraising.'" You could be "Mugged by Eminent Domain" because the government wants to take your property and give it to someone else. Fitzgerald explains their reasoning: "under the banner of `redevelopment,' many government officials now interpret public good to mean the advancement of any business interest that creates more jobs and tax revenue than the business, home, or neighborhood that it replaces."

The author devotes his largest chapter to people "Mugged for the Environment." The remaining chapters cover government incursions into people's livelihoods in order to help the handicapped, maintain safe workplaces, and protect consumers. Victims lose property, years of their lives, and faith in justice. The bad guys are government officials enforcing unreasonable regulations either because they are drunk with power or the tools of third parties seeking to transfer property to themselves. The good guys are victims who fight to keep their property even if they only score Pyrric victories after lengthy and expensive legal battles. Good guys also include legal groups such as the Institute for Justice.

Fitzgerald rejects the criticism that these tales are isolated. He claims that "It Could Happen to You." "I believe", he writes, "a strong case can be made that these anecdotes show the emergence of clear and disturbing patterns, and from these patterns we can discern systemic problems and abuses that require legislative remedies." In conclusion he outlines proposals for reform. Exercise your property rights to buy this book and prepare to be shocked.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of Control Government: The Enemy of Hardworking People, January 27, 2004

By 

Josh Dunn (Burke, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mugged by the State: Outrageous Government Assaults on Ordinary People and their Property (Hardcover)

Mugged by the State, by Randall Fitzgerald, is a series of succinct descriptions of cases in which government agencies destroyed small businesses and seized homes, cars, and other property from everyday people. In each case where the victim did break the law, it was a minor, technical violation that should not have triggered such a draconian reaction.
Each vignette in Mugged by the State is based on a true story that Fitzgerald wrote for Readers Digest.
Consider the case of Fred and Nancy Cline. They established one of the last remaining family farms in the country, only to have the Army Corps of Engineers issue a cease and desist order threatening them with ongoing fines of $25,000 a day for each day they were in violation of one of its wetlands regulations, plus one year in prison. After a second cease and desist order and ruinous legal expenses, the Army Corps of Engineers demanded they restore the entire farm to its preagricultural state. To intimidate the Clines, the Corps of Engineers began flying black helicopters over the property, only a very short distance from the ground.
It's clear that a person doesn't own what he doesn't control. When government at any level, Federal, state or local, denies a property owner the right to control what belongs to him, the government has seized ownership. Had they not received help from an unexpected source, the government would own the Clines' farm.
The Clines talked to a former chief of the Army Corps of Engineers' regulatory division who had played a major role in writing the portion of the Clean Water Act the Corps and DOJ accused the Clines of violating. The former chief of the regulatory division said everything the Clines did was legal. DOJ and the Army ultimately dropped the matter. Sadly, not everyone in the Clines' position is so fortunate.
Just as Federal and state agencies perform regulatory takings, zoning and other local regulations can be used to deny people ownership of land they own and pay taxes on. If you've been fortunate enough to avoid problems with the zoning board, it may come as a surprise to you that the Hood River Co., Oregon planning department prevented Tom and Doris Dodd from building their retirement home on land they had purchased for $33,000; zoning had lowered its value to $700. (The Dodds lost their lawsuit.)
Some may pass off the instances Fitzgerald documents as isolated anecdotes, but the reality is that many government officials really do face incentives to behave in the same fashion that led to the "muggings" recounted in Mugged by the State. Most "muggings" receive very little attention, and only the more fortunate victims get their property back.
And although Fitzgerald doesn't mention it every time, the victim's Constitutional rights to just compensation (5th Amendment), due process (5th or 14th), or freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures (4th) were violated in most of the anecdotes included in the book.
An entire chapter of the book is devoted to asset forfeiture, which allows many Federal agencies (and some state governments) to seize property they allege was involved in certain felonies. The authorities don't have to investigate or prosecute the owner, or even allege the owner consented to criminal activity or knew the property was being used in crime. In general, any private property is subject to forfeiture: typically real estate, money, cars, boats, and jewelry. Indeed, most of the alleged crimes used as triggers for forfeiture do not lead to any arrests or convictions. The Justice Department's own statistics show the vast majority of alleged crimes leading to forfeiture never lead to an arrest or a conviction.
The suffering this book documents is a very strong case for reforming eminent domain, zoning, asset forfeiture, the ADA, occupational licensing, and other practices. Mugged by the State will convince you that such practices have some very real problems that need to be corrected. The book makes for easy but informative reading material on a growing problem.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Awesome Book Deserves 6 Stars!, December 7, 2003

By 

Nod Nod (Shasta, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mugged by the State: Outrageous Government Assaults on Ordinary People and their Property (Hardcover)

This book is stunning. First of all, it is both chilling and brilliant, such as when the author describes interviewing one of the book's subjects when suddenly, like right out of a movie--a ubiquitous black helicopter juts over the horizon and approaches menacingly until it hovers right outside the window! There are surpises galore in this masterpiece of what should alarm and awaken Americans to a government that can at times be arrogant and intimidating. In short, this book is a MUST-READ and should be included in college American history and poli-sci courses. Also, you will appreciate that this is not shoddy, conspiracy-ridden material, but the real thing. MUGGED BY THE STATE author Randall Fitzgerald is an experienced journalist whose cases here have been thoroughly fact-checked. I also liked how the self-help portion of the book is invaluable because it offers you solid how-to guidance and resources should you be "mugged by the state." An awesome book!