Motel hell: asset forfeiture follies.

• Author: Root, Damon
• Position: Citings - Motel Caswell - Brief article

POLICE IN Tewksbury, Massachusetts, say the Motel Caswell, a family business valued at $1 million, is subject to civil forfeiture because a tiny fraction of its guests have been arrested for drug crimes during the last two decades. Russell and Pat Caswell, who have owned and operated the motel for nearly 30 years, say they have always worked closely with police and reported illegal activity whenever it came to their attention.

That should have been enough to prevent the forfeiture from proceeding under state law, which requires the government to show that the owner "knew or should have known" his property was "used in and for the business of unlawfully manufacturing, dispensing, or distributing controlled substances." But the Tewksbury police skirted that requirement by...