Railway Bandits.

• Author: Lynch, Michael W.
• Position: Brief Article

Amtrak manages to lose money on 39 of its 41 routes, but that doesn't stop it from making a killing off some of its customers. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Amtrak officials cut a deal with the Drug Enforcement Administration: In exchange for giving the drug police access to its booking system, Amtrak gets 10 percent of any money the cops take from hapless passengers.

In February 2000, the deal helped Amtrak make $14,700 off Sam Thach, who was traveling from Fullerton, California, to Boston. When the train pulled into the Albuquerque station, DEA agents relieved him of $147,000. Did Thach possess any drugs? No, but he purchased his one-way ticket with cash, and he failed to give Amtrak his phone number. So the DEA seized his cash under forfeiture rules that have since been changed. Thach is now suing in federal court to get his money back.

More recently, on April 5, 2001, the DEA seized $640,000 from Jennifer Leigh Ames, who was traveling from Chicago to Los Angeles. Apparently, she had looked nervous and-worse yet!had refused to grant agents permission to search her belongings.

Since Amtrak's deal was first reported earlier this year in the Albuquerque Journal, the railroad has been on the defensive. It claimed the bargain is one of a kind, but in an e-mail to the Journal, Amtrak said it "will, on request, participate in and provide information for law enforcement." (Amtrak didn't return REASON's calls for clarification and won't cop to how much it has earned from its train heists.) On April 25, the railroad announced it would no longer provide the DEA direct access to the reservation system. Amtrak will do the snooping itself, and exchange tips on its passengers for 10 percent of the DEA's take.

For its part, the DEA sees nothing wrong with the arrangement. Spokesperson Rogene Waite says the agency has similar deals with bus companies and airlines, but...