Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jan 2013
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2013 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact: http://services.bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340
Website: http://bostonglobe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Authors: Colin A. Young and Martin Finucane and Martin Finucane
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)

JUDGE REJECTS US BID TO SEIZE TEWKSBURY MOTEL

A US magistrate judge -rejected Thursday an attempt by federal law 
enforcement to seize a Tewksbury motel -because of drug activity that 
took place there.

"After careful consideration of the evidence, pleadings, and argument 
of counsel, this court concludes that the government has failed to 
meet its burden of establishing that the motel is subject to 
forfeiture," US Magistrate Judge Judith Dein wrote in her ruling Thursday.

In September 2009, the government sought the forfeiture of the 
56-room Motel Caswell, citing 15 drug-related incidents that occurred 
at the motel -between 1994 and 2008. The owner, Russell H. Caswell, 
69, lives next to the motel and purchased the property from his 
- -father in 1984, according to court documents.

Among the incidents cited by the government were the 1994 conviction 
of a motel occu-pant on charges of possession of a Class B substance 
with intent to distribute and the 1997 arrests of four heroin 
suppliers who delivered the drug to motel occupants.

"In none of the 15 incidents on which the government relied did Mr. 
Caswell or motel employees have knowledge that the guest was 
intending to use or distribute drugs or engage in unlawful activity 
at the time they checked in," Dein wrote.

Caswell could not be reached for comment Thursday evening. A 
spokeswoman for the US attorney's office in -Boston would not 
comment. -except to say that the office was still reviewing the ruling.

Prior to the 2009 forfeiture action, there had never been a threat of 
litigation against the motel, and law enforcement -officials never 
advised Caswell about measures he could take to reduce drug crime at 
the -motel, the judge wrote.

Dein also found that Caswell met his burden of proving that he was 
the "innocent owner" of the property, writing that -Caswell "did not 
have actual knowledge of the forfeitable drug crimes before or while 
they were occurring, and there is no evidence that he should have 
known that they were likely to occur."
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