You've heard the saying "crime doesn't pay" but for local law enforcement, it does exactly that.  Items bought for the purpose of ill will, are in turn used to take down crooks and felons.  The Rackateer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, allows officers to seize items during an investigation and use them for good.

"Basically things tht they have acquired through illegal activity whether they be hard assets, cash, or property, or something like that," says Lt. Jay Carlson who heads up the Yuma County Narcotics Task Force.  His team seizes property from drug busts. Under the RICO Act, suspects arrested for selling drugs stand to lose their vehicles if they were used to transport narcotics.  They can even lose their homes if they were bought with drug money.

"In order to seize that asset, we have to be able to prove that they were selling or that that car was purchased with proceeds or that the action they're doing is for financial gain."

RICO money filters through the County Attorneys Office and is then distributed among law enforcement agencies.  The task force has used those funds to buy new tools for crime-fighting efforts.

"We've used it to purchase equipment. We've bought equipment for our traffic unit to make them better, more efficient, more effective on accident scenes. It's a piece of equipment for the AIMS system. We've bought equipment for investigators, crime scene kits, and photo kits."

The Sheriff's Office has used RICO money to get a K-9 officer and to help pay for projects when grant money comes up short.  RICO money has saved the department thousands of dollars, so in the end, criminals are likely funding their own demise.