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 dwpineal
Psychedelic Artist
Registered: 07/20/06
Posts: 4,421
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 Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds 
#15673819 - 01/16/12 04:14 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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http://www.ktvu.com/ap/ap/crime/mass-budget-motel-fights-forfeiture-by-feds/nGBpT/
budget motel fights forfeiture by feds
TEWKSBURY, Mass. —
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.
Caswell is fighting a move by the U.S. Department of Justice to take his motel under a law that allows for the forfeiture of properties connected to crimes. In Caswell's case, the government is not claiming that Caswell committed any crimes, but says the motel should be shut down because of the drug-dealing that goes on among its guests.
If the government wins, under a provision of the law known as "equitable sharing," the Tewksbury police department could collect up to 80 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the motel. That would amount to more than $1 million, if the motel sells for the most recent town assessment of just over $1.5 million.
"It's about money — that's the only thing I can think of," said Caswell, 68, who took over the family business in 1983.
In its petition, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston describes eight drug arrests made at the motel between 2001 and 2008. A Tewksbury police detective said in an affidavit that the motel has been the subject of more than 100 drug investigations since 1994.
But Caswell said that number is vastly exaggerated and that the number of guests arrested for buying or selling drugs on his property amounts to a tiny fraction of the thousands who stay at the motel every year.
"I'm not trying to say we don't get our share of troubled people — we do — but they are taking this handful of drug cases and making it sound like it's 90 percent of our business and that's not the case," Caswell said.
Located on a busy commercial strip near an auto body shop, Chinese restaurant and waffle house, the Caswell looks like a typical budget motel, with long, squat buildings and a prominent sign advertising its low nightly rate.
The motel's clientele is made up of all types, many of them down on their luck — divorced, unemployed, disabled and homeless people who can't afford an apartment. But Caswell says the vast majority of his guests do not sell drugs. He said the most common reason police are called is to break up domestic disputes.
Federal officials say the forfeiture notice should not have come as a shock because the motel has had a reputation for decades as a trouble spot for drugs and has been featured in crime stories in the local newspaper.
"Police records show there has been a long history of criminal activity at that location," said Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, whose office brought the forfeiture complaint in federal court on behalf of the Department of Justice.
Tewksbury police declined to comment.
But federal officials deny that the decision to try to seize the motel is driven by the large amount of money the Tewksbury police could potentially receive.
"We're trying to assist the town in minimizing criminal activity," DiIorio-Sterling said.
Caswell's lawyers say a comparable amount of drug activity happens at any budget motel, but the Motel Caswell was seen as an easier candidate for forfeiture because it is not part of a large chain. It's also family-owned and mortgage-free, says Scott Bullock, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, a Washington, D.C., libertarian public interest law firm representing Caswell.
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.
Bullock argues that equitable sharing allows federal officials to circumvent state forfeiture laws, which are generally more protective of property owners. In Massachusetts, state law protects property owners from forfeiture unless the property was "used in and for the business of" manufacturing or distributing illegal drugs. Under federal law, the government is only required to show that the property has been used "in any manner" to commit certain federal crimes.
With many police departments around the country struggling with budget shortfalls, Bullock said the Institute for Justice is concerned that more and more police departments will look to civil forfeiture to generate revenue.
"That is not what we want law enforcement officers to be motivated by," he said.
The U.S. Department of Justice paid out nearly $390 million in equitable sharing payments to law enforcement agencies in Fiscal Year 2010, up from about $207 million in 2003, according to figures provided by the DOJ. The department said it does not keep statistics about how many properties are seized, only how much money is paid out to law enforcement agencies through the program.
Richard Vacca, a disabled veteran who has been staying at the Caswell for the past three years, said he has everything he needs there for $285 a week.
"I have never seen drug activity," Vacca said. "The cops are saying what a terrible place this is, but I've never seen anything in the newspaper about them nailing a kingpin. No Pablo Escobar has ever been caught here."
Caswell's lawyers filed a motion in November asking a judge to dismiss the complaint. If the court rejects it, a trial will be held.
Caswell said he has tried repeatedly to get information from police about drug activity, but they always tell him they can't talk about investigations.
He keeps a "do not rent" list at the front desk to notify his clerks of guests he has had problems with in the past. But he says he has no way of predicting what other guests will cause trouble.
"I can't see through the walls of the rooms," he said.
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Beefy1
GONE
Registered: 05/02/09
Posts: 3,573
Loc: around
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: dwpineal] 3
#15673863 - 01/16/12 04:26 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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I bought drugs in the parking lot of a police station once.
Better shut that place down. It's a blight on the community.
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 Slayer1024
Stranger Shroomer
Registered: 03/08/11
Posts: 375
Loc: At his place ^^
Last seen: 3 months, 23 hours
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: Beefy1] 3
#15674172 - 01/16/12 05:26 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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people buy drugs where ever they can in any state, you might as well just shut down every store in the country with a parking lot because I guarantee somebody at some point has made a deal there.
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ant61
Registered: 10/26/03
Posts: 1,149
Loc: colorado
Last seen: 23 hours, 3 minutes
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: Beefy1]
#15674189 - 01/16/12 05:29 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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its always about the money.never about saving lives or the community,or citizens
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Nature Boy
Stranger than most
Registered: 07/09/07
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: dwpineal]
#15674916 - 01/16/12 08:20 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
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You have GOT to be kidding me! The feds can lay claim to this and other assets just by asserting a crime occurred there??? Fuck. Our federal government is the biggest thief on the planet.
I hope they get a stupendous lawyer and pound that case right up the ass of the feds...to the Supreme Court if necessary. What an outrage!!!
N.B.
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All submitted posts are by Someone Who Isn't Me (SWIM) - and in any event are works of pure fiction or outright lies. Any information, statement, or assertion contained therein should be considered pure unadulterated bullshit. Note well: Sorry, but I no longer answer PM's unless you are a long-time trusted friend, so don't bother. If you have a question, ask it in the appropriate thread...no exceptions. Anyone with less than 1,000 posts is automatically assumed to be a cop.
 
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p_walter
Lurker
Registered: 04/25/11
Posts: 535
Loc: Irrelevant
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: Nature Boy]
#15675190 - 01/16/12 09:31 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
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I don't often say this and mean it, but fuck the police.
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Coaster said: so i got free drug coupons witch u floozies refer to as "money"....
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Mr. Bojangles
Breathe In
Registered: 04/08/08
Posts: 1,534
Loc: The Dirty
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: p_walter]
#15675240 - 01/16/12 09:45 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
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All about the money.
Quote:
"We're trying to assist the town in minimizing criminal activity," DiIorio-Sterling said.
How anyone can actually think people would believe a statement like this just boggles my mind.
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"It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong."
-Fracois Marie Voltaire
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DebuteMachine
Psychonaut
Registered: 09/29/06
Posts: 3,173
Last seen: 25 days, 21 hours
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: Mr. Bojangles]
#15675438 - 01/16/12 10:38 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
Mr. Bojangles said:
All about the money.
Quote:
"We're trying to assist the town in minimizing criminal activity," DiIorio-Sterling said.
How anyone can actually think people would believe a statement like this just boggles my mind.
 Newt Gingrich would appreciate this.
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Superide
PROcrastinator
Registered: 01/19/11
Posts: 290
Loc: MASS
Last seen: 9 months, 27 days
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: DebuteMachine]
#15675533 - 01/16/12 10:53 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
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So what does the government say about how royally fucked Mr. Caswell is now? Does this bullshit law allow the gov to pay him back for his misfortune of having a motel with a shitty reputation?
I'm sure the amount of drug deals and dubious history are vastly exaggerated by the police but even if they weren't and police continually made drug busts at the motel what do they expect Caswell to do? Their job for them?
The only way I see it that the government has a leg to stand on as for taking the property is if they have some concrete evidence that shit loads of drug activity is happening there and that Mr. Caswell intentionally ignored it in order to profit from it. Unless they can prove he took steps to allow it to happen then fuck them.
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sk8ordude
Stranger
Registered: 07/12/11
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Last seen: 1 year, 17 days
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: Superide]
#15675674 - 01/16/12 11:20 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
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In America, stuff owns you. Think about it.
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Flozart
Earthling
Registered: 06/19/11
Posts: 52
Loc: FEMA ZONE 7 
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: sk8ordude]
#15675985 - 01/17/12 12:39 AM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
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Damn I really feel sorry for this guy...his whole life these bastards are trying to take from him. What the fuck is America coming too? land of the free....haha what a fucking joke. I really hope the best for this individual.
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F|_oZ@|^T
sometimes you just gotta shake it!!!
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digitalemu
Digital Emu
Registered: 09/01/10
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: Flozart]
#15677513 - 01/17/12 12:55 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
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I thought the purpose of law enforcement was to persecute those who commit crimes? If law enforcement has an issue with drug sales by people at the motel and not the motel owners/staff, they need to go after the ones commiting the crimes. A lot of drug traffiking happens in and about shopping malls too, so why not seize shopping malls too? Small motel owner up against feds, if forfeiture doesnt take out the motel the legal costs to the motel owner will.
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anunnakian
Registered: 07/16/10
Posts: 12,779
Loc: State of Jefferson
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: digitalemu]
#15678399 - 01/17/12 04:31 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
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Yup, and it's a win win for the feds.
Easy pickings to gain some extra cash.
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Eywa_devotee
Stranger
Registered: 10/04/10
Posts: 487
Last seen: 7 months, 5 days
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: anunnakian]
#15683767 - 01/18/12 04:27 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
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The asset forfeiture and rave act are some of the most widely abused drug laws. Mostly political reasons. Just because some people deal drugs occasionally at his venue does not mean that he was involved in the dealings. This is abuse of the law and the judge should throw out the case.
I bet diamonds to doughnuts the real reason they are wanting to seize the hotel is to sell the property to some sort of real estate developer. I would check to see if the property is sitting on/getting in the way somebody's plan for some other development venture.
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PsilocybinMike
T.F.Y.Q.A
Registered: 02/18/08
Posts: 2,539
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Re: Budget motel fights forfeiture by feds [Re: Eywa_devotee]
#15684141 - 01/18/12 05:39 PM (1 year, 3 months ago) |
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Haha ironically not too long ago I grabbed some roxi 30s off a kid who was livin out of a motel for like a week n a half. Not bad for someone who slangs a decent amount, cheap room, pay the days fee with a few plays and the rest is profit. The dude even told me tho the front desk people were kinda grillin him when he'd have people show up and bounce in like 2 minutes, I think they even said something to him, not sure what exactly, but nonetheless dude continued to stay there for like another week after they said shit and had no problems. He didn't let drag it out too long though and packed up and went about his business.
How are the feds just gonna try and shut down these motels though like wtf? That's someones business, and not everyone can afford nice hotels like the Sheraton or somethin, by which I mean totally innocent people who are just passing through or whatever and need a room.
Plus just because motels are more sketchy and in a really bad part of town you might definitely see some pretty blatant drug activity, doesn't mean people don't do the same thing with hotels, rent rooms and slang shit out of there for a few days or a week or something. If you're getting rid of mad shit $100-200 a night or whatever for a decent hotel like a Marriot or Sheraton is not that bad, especially if ur moving serious weight.
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baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVZBTAYm3rw
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