Tewksbury Owner Fights Feds' Attempt To Seize Alleged Drug Motel

[iscooterliberally]

TEWKSBURY, Mass. (AP) — Russ Caswell remembers driving a bulldozer at age 11 to help clear farmland for his father to build the Motel Caswell in the 1950s.

Six decades later, the family’s $57-per-night budget motel is a sought-after property, not because of the cheap accommodations, but because the federal government says it is a magnet for drug deals.

read more here:

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/12/29/owner-fights-feds-attempt-to-seize-drug-motel/

[Angry Dragon]

1. They could use the same laws to take over a lot of banks

and Wall Street firms

I wonder why they do not do this??

[iscooterliberally]

2. I think the banks and Wall Street like things the way the are.

I'm sure they are the ones who lobbied for the civil forfeiture laws. So much for the 'free markets' huh? They can just use the Feds to put their competition out of business. The real drug deals are done in luxury suites in the international chain hotels I'm sure. I'd like to see law enforcement try to seize a Hilton, or Marriott.

[Angry Dragon]

3. The article referred to federal laws

it did not state it was confined to just drug deals
insider trading, fraud, all things like this would be covered
so when Goldman, Citi, BoA pay a fine for illegal activities then the feds should step in and take the properties

[iscooterliberally]

4. There was a part about the feds having to have a conviction to use the federal laws..

"While criminal forfeiture laws require someone to be convicted of a crime before property can be taken, civil forfeiture allows prosecutors to take properties without convicting anyone."

This is the part I was referring to. Anyway, I agree with you that if they are going to seize this family's motel, they should do the same to Goldman, etc, but they don't refer to them as "Government Sachs" for nothing.

[Warren Stupidity]

5. civil forfeiture was originally for actual real life pirates

then it got extended to 'drug kingpins' whatever the fuck that is, thanks to nancy reagan and just say no crack baby drug war mania, and then police departments everywhere figured out it was an unstoppable loot stream. What a mess. When will we wake up?

[RainDog]

6. what BULLSHIT!

incredible that police are trying to take property b/c they expect a biz owner to do their job.

this has really gone too far.