ICE/ATF seizes vintage war plane (Douglas AD-4N Skyraider)

General General Discussion
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Collector puzzled over seizure of his vintage war plane by customs agents

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/06/collector_puzzled_over_seizure.html

A vintage airplane collector said Tuesday that government agents have impounded his rare 1952 military aircraft he imported from France last fall and are threatening to destroy the plane because of a missed step in bringing it into the country.
Claude Hendrickson III said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seized his Douglas AD-4N Skyraider about six weeks ago at the Bessemer Municipal Airport hangar he leases.

“(ICE) basically said we smuggled the plane into the country. My question is how do you smuggle this into the country,” Hendrickson asked pointing to the single-engine aircraft that was commonly used as an attack bomber during the Vietnam War.

Hendrickson’s Skyraider is believed to be one of only four of its kind that remain in the U.S.

The airplane, which Hendrickson bought for $100,000 last May, since its seizure has been moved to another hangar at the Bessemer Airport.

Hendrickson said he is not allowed to fly the plane or perform any work on it until ICE agents release it.

ICE spokesman Temple Black on Tuesday declined comment on the case and forwarded questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Birmingham.

Officials in the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined specifics on the matter, but said “ICE continues to investigate the case.”

Hendrickson said he was not trying to bring the plane into the country illegally. He said he believed he followed all steps to import the plane.

The 48-year-old businessman hired attorneys Joe Lassiter and Anthony Johnson. Hendrickson said his attorneys on Tuesday met with lawyers in the U.S. Attorneys in Birmingham regarding the plane.

Hendrickson said he has been advised that ICE had 60 days to file any criminal charges against him. He said the plane has already been impounded for about 45 days.

MISSED PAPERWORK:

Hendrickson, who lives in Shelby County, said he was in Texas on business when federal agents seized the plane at the Bessemer Airport in May.

He flew into the airport as soon as he heard about the seizure and briefly met with ICE agents.

Hendrickson said ICE agents told him then that he had failed to fill out a form required by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives when he imported the plane into the states from France.

Hendrickson said he was unaware he had to register the plane with ATF since he removed the aircraft’s artillery while it was still in France.

Hendrickson did register the plane with the FAA.

The FAA issued a certificate of registration on the airplane in September 2008, according to the agency’s Web site. The registered owner of the aircraft, according to the FAA, is Dixie Equipment LLC, the business Hendrickson owns.

IN HONOR OF FATHER:

Hendrickson’s father, Claude F. Hendrickson Jr., is a retired captain in the Navy. The elder Hendrickson flew planes like a Skyraider during his service.

It was his father’s service as a Naval pilot that sparked the younger Hendrickson’s fascination with airplanes. The younger Hendrickson owns several vintage military aircraft that he houses in Bessemer including the exact SNJ-4 warbird his father flew during his time in the military.

He and his father made the trip to France last year for the Skyraider. After inspecting the aircraft, the two men hired a pilot to fly a 15-day trip to get the plane from Europe to Buffalo, N.Y.

The Hendricksons planned to enter the plane in air shows across the country. Hendrickson already flies several of his military planes in air shows.

The younger Hendrickson said once the Skyraider had made a successful run in air shows, he planned to donate the aircraft in his father’s honor.

“Ultimately, my intentions from the beginning have been to fly this plane for five to 10 years in air shows and then donate it to the Southern Museum of Flight in my father’s name.”

Now, Hendrickson worries that the government will destroy the vintage aircraft.

“I just don’t get it,” Hendrickson said. “This is a part of American history. It is of no danger to the government.”

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Beware when people attempt to try their cases in the media. It is usually an attempt to twist the truth. There was more information omitted from this article than was in it. If the plane was seized on a seizure warrant than the affidavit was with it. The affidavit would have laid out all the reasons justifying the seizure. That the article failed to reference one piece of probable cause from the affidavit leads me to believe that there was fraud involved in the importation, thus the seizure.

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Looks like it was only Customs that seized the aircraft; not ICE and ATF. Or did I miss something?

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I haven’t read the affidavit but this is the usual statute in these types of cases,

18 § 545. Smuggling goods into the United States

Whoever knowingly and willfully, with intent to defraud the United States, smuggles, or clandestinely introduces or attempts to smuggle or clandestinely introduce into the United States any merchandise which should have been invoiced, or makes out or passes, or attempts to pass, through the customhouse any false, forged, or fraudulent invoice, or other document or paper; or
Whoever fraudulently or knowingly imports or brings into the United States, any merchandise contrary to law, or receives, conceals, buys, sells, or in any manner facilitates the transportation, concealment, or sale of such merchandise after importation, knowing the same to have been imported or brought into the United States contrary to law— Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
Proof of defendant’s possession of such goods, unless explained to the satisfaction of the jury, shall be deemed evidence sufficient to authorize conviction for violation of this section. Merchandise introduced into the United States in violation of this section, or the value thereof, to be recovered from any person described in the first or second paragraph of this section, shall be forfeited to the United States.

The “C” in ICE is Customs. Any “military item” not properly “de-milled” would fall under munitions under ATF authority. I am sure both were involved in the case, even if ICE performed the seizure.

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U.S. Customs, as a sole agency, is no more.

ICE= Immigration and Customs Enfocement.

Since March of 2003 when DHS combined Special Agents from Immigration and Naturalization Service with U.S. Customs on the investigation side of the house.

At the ports Customs Inspectors along with Immigration Inspectors were combined under Customs and Border Protection, also under DHS. Border Patrol was also thrown into CBP but they basically stayed somewhat intact.

Hope this brings you up to speed.

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i303 I believe NCPatrolAR was speaking of CBP. Customs and Border Patrol.

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Reading the article, and quite a few folks forget U.S. Customs has been conglomerated into the DHS machine, I understood that he may have been confused. And it is a confusing process.

CBP turns over all further investigations over to ICE if it came to indicting on federal charges to include the seizure of the a/c. CBP (FP&F) still hangs on to the plane awaiting further disposition. If ICE drop the charges, charges dismissed at the AUSA’s office, or whatever to include acquital, CBP can still go administrative on the seizure and eventually destroy the a/c. It’s a double edged sword and a huge PITA for the agents.

And kmrtnsn is right on about this being tried in the media. Alot isn’t being mentioned. It looks to me that hendrickson knew he didn’t have all his docs in order and decided just to fly (import) the plane anyways. He did something dumb and now he risked an important piece of our history.

I predict it will end in a fine (non-crim) and possibility the a/c turned over to Smithonian.

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“nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

Oh, I forgot. It’s contraband…

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Don’t also forget that U.S. Customs was the first law enforcement agency in the U.S. and Customs laws were the first laws enacted in order to generate revenue through taxation of importable merchandise and to regulate commerce. This was 1789 created by our founding fathers, most of whom were prominent businessmen.

What people don’t realize is that there is no 4th Amendment protection at our borders. or should I say search and seizure laws are applied differently at the border than after being admitted into the U.S. Everyone is subject to search at all ports and points of entry. All goods are subjected to a duty tax to include the clothes on our back. Customs and duty rate come in second to complication right after immigration laws, which is something that also gets dealt with at borders.

If Hendricks gets off scott free, then others will use this to their advantage and do the same. Also this isn’t a case of avoiding duty tax or just forgetting one piece of paper. Someone who has the knowhow to acquire an a/c, is a pilot, has attorneys and yet complains that he didn’t know? Now takes it to the media and claims he did it for his father and was going to donate? I’d bet that wasn’t his original plan.

The guy deserves a admin fine for just being an AH. And it happens everyday at our ports.

out.

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I still fail to see why he has to register a plane with no weapons on it with the ATF…

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And of course we’re supposed to just take everything in the affidavit at face value. Oh wait, we can’t even do that, because it’s not even available on PACER for public view.

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Probably the same reason you would have to do the same when importing a demilled tank. Just a guess.