If you have ever read any of my blog articles or my book, then you are aware of my feelings towards the MBI, but I'm not so sure that anyone understands how I view the agency or the former agents. The feelings range from anger to disgust. The main reason that I feel this way is that I abhor injustice, and every single case investigated by the MBI that I have examined, including my own, involves some level of injustice. In most situations the agency also criminally harasses its targets.
The injustice could be something simple like the abuse of state funds for self-gratification as in the Rachel's Men's Club case – agents passed out thousands of dollars to watch sexual girl-on-girl shows on several occasions, as if dancers could not be arrested for anything less. The MBI spent close to $200,000.00 investigating the club. One agent was on tape as stating his intent to have sex with a dancer.
It could also be more complicated, like hounding an escort repeatedly at her workplace where she worked as a leasing agent for an apartment complex and threatening to make sure that her children were taken away if she didn't provide the statement that the agents demanded, as with "Maria" in my case. They never sought the facts or the truth, and that in itself is injustice permeated upon each and every defendant investigated by the agency and each and every coerced witness.
This still does not reveal how I really view the agency as feelings and viewpoint are two different topics. The first descriptive thought that comes to mind is con artists, and the second is bullies, but while the MBI is capable of shaking me up, they have never scared me. Many people in the adult business, from dancers to escorts to business owners, have told me stories of various acts of misconduct on the part of MBI agents, and each came across as petrified of the agency. For me the answer was simple: Clarify the threat at the time that it is stated.
If an agent repeatedly visited my workplace in attempt to embarrass me in front of fellow employees with the goal of coercing a false statement, I would not hide or be afraid as "Maria" was, and instead I'd make sure that I had witnesses to the agent's statements and actions. Write down contact information for each witness. "Maria" was fired by her employer and should have sued Agent Rose and his supervisors, not feared him. As she sat on the stand in my trial, she looked scared and frozen. You can never fear the bully; it's counterproductive.
To summarize my viewpoint of the MBI, I do not consider them scary at all. Any of these many petrified defendants and/or MBI victims could have simply invoked their right to counsel. There are many great defense attorneys out there, and not all charge exorbitant fees. In many of the situations described, simply invoking the right to counsel and the right to remain silent would have resulted in being tossed out the door. These are bullies, and what they do is bluff. Face it, if they already had a solid case, as they claim in most situations, they wouldn't need to talk to you. They would simply arrest you, because that is what they do. The threat game is precisely that – a game. They are not there to help you or to hear your version of the story – they could not care less on either point.
From my view, the agents involved in my own case, the (now former) director, Bill Lutz, and the members of the MBI Governing Board are not scary. Each is a con artist that sells the public their version, but only the weak or the ignorant would help them do so. In the United States we do have rights, but what no one mentions is that you must fight for those rights till your dying breath. No one informs you of your rights and it is your own responsibility to enlighten yourself. Finally, no one will ever hand you those rights on a silver platter – you must demand each right.
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