Marshals Wage Anti-Drug War

BOSTON--U.S. Marshals seized a tobacco store, an auto body shop and three homes yesterday in a campaign to confiscate inner-city buildings used for drug dealing, law enforcement officials said.

Boston landlords who tolerate drug dealing on their property now "run the risk of making a charitable, non tax-deductible contribution" of that property to the government, U.S. Attorney Wayne A. Budd said at a press conference.

Justice Department officials said the Boston seizures were part of a nationwide effort to make more aggressive use of the forfeiture provisions of the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Under that law, passed in 1970 and significantly strengthened in recent years, prosecutors can bring civil lawsuits to confiscate property that is either bought with illegal profits or knowingly used for drug trafficking.

During its last session, Congress appropriated money to hire 170 assistant U.S. attorneys solely to bring such cases. Three of them now work in Boston.

The five buildings seized yesterday in the city's Dorchester and Mattapan neighborhoods have an estimated total value of $1 million to $2 million. The court-approved seizures prevent the buildings from being sold or altered pending the outcome of confiscation proceedings in U.S. District Court.

If a judge allows the buildings to be sold at auction, Budd said, the bulk of the proceeds will be divided among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

In addition, he said, some of the money would go into a "tipster fund" to encourage drug informants. Under federal law, a person who provides information that leads to the confiscation of drug-related property can receive 10 percent of the proceeds, up to a maximum of $250,000.

In the past, prosecutors in Massachusetts have used the forfeiture statute primarily to seize valuable real estate and automobiles from wealthy drug dealers, rather than going after decrepit, inner-city properties, officials said.

Now, Boston is taking a cue from Washington and New York City, which have been confiscating crack houses and drug dens for about two years, said James B. Roche, the U.S. Marshal for Massachusetts.

"The same law that allows us to seize million-dollar condominiums in Nantucket, Rolls Royces and Cadillacs, also allows us to seize properties in Dorchester and Mattapan, '78 Chevrolets and...other properties that might be associated with drug dealing," said John Coleman, special agent-in-charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Boston office.

Budd, who was appointed to replace Frank McNamara as the chief federal prosecutor in Massachusetts this year, said he would focus on the inner city but also bring forfeiture cases around the state. As an example, he cited the confiscation last month of $4 million dollars worth of real estate owned by an alleged drug dealer in Lowell.

"Please don't take this initiative with the inner city to mean that we plan to abandon other areas of the state," he said. "We're by no means picking on a section of the city or taking advantage of poor people and minorities."