And, to make South Carolinians and New Mexicans both feel better, up in Massachusetts treasurers are raising their kids to be scofflaws, too:
{BC-Treasurer-Peaches,0320}
{Mass. treasurer detained for not declaring 3 peaches daughter} brought peaches from Italy
BOSTON (AP) – A top state official learned firsthand how it feels to be suspected of smuggling at Logan International Airport. Customs agents caught his teenage daughter with contraband: three peaches from Italy.
State Treasurer Tim Cahill said he and his family were detained and treated "like criminals" after they failed to declare the fruit and officers found it.
"It felt like we were being interrogated and found guilty without any process, no explanation, no rundown of our rights," Cahill said. He said he didn’t even know his daughter had the peaches during the nine-hour flight home on Aug. 14.
Cahill said customs agents told him he had to pay a $300 fine and would spend the night in jail if he refused to pay. He also said he wasn’t told about his right to appeal.
Cahill said he was reluctant to talk about the episode until meeting last week with lawmakers and tourism industry representatives about the difficulties overseas travelers have faced entering the U.S. since the Sept. 11 attacks.
"I do respect the difficult role that Homeland Security has," Cahill said. "It’s a balancing act. Unfortunately in my case, the balance was not struck very well. As a citizen who cares about security, I think that the time needs to be spent better and maybe on less serious issues than peaches."
A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, had no comment.
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