“Sometimes,” confirmed Giller, “on especially sensitive projects, we work with a private organization, a private company, run by a guy, by a highly connected D.C. big hat. It gets involved in projects so controversial there’s a need to avoid all oversight. Because it’s private, it reports to no one.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I’ve grown very concerned. I recently learned that the government maintains detailed personal files-not just on people suspected of criminal activities-but on all kinds of people. Even its own,” Giller paused, “its own intelligence agents for example. People like me.

”I was anonymously sent a copy of my file. And I couldn’t believe it. Bank records, prescription drug records, video surveillance, a political profile, lists of books purchased, transcripts of conversations in my car recorded from the speaker system for my cellphone, wiretaps of conversations with my ex, with my kids, with friends, with my family therapist, with accountants, attorneys, doctors . . .”

“Conversations you had in your car?”

“Yeah. They know everything that goes on in your car. They can even take satellite control of it through the computer systems installed by the manufacturer.”

“But why? Why would the government do that?”

“One can only guess. But in some countries we used to do it to build dossiers on people so that if it ever became necessary, the government would know just who to round up. So it could put people where they couldn’t cause problems, or so they could just disappear. It was one thing for us to be doing some of these things overseas. But here? Now?”

~ excerpt: Billionaires and Bagmen, Ray Bourhis