-Caveat Lector-
..............................................................
Forwarded from the New Paradigms Project [Not Necessarily Endorsed]:
From: K <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [CTRL] Asset Forfeiture
Date: Monday, November 01, 1999 8:49 PM
-Caveat Lector-
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/1031dea5.shtml
November 1, 1999
Golden doctor fights
drug agency for return
of his luxury car
By John Accola
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
Federal agents say James R. Metzger, a
Golden physician, was on a drug run for
himself when he drove to a Safeway
pharmacy in April and picked up a
prescription of 60 codeine-laced pills.
Sensing something was amiss with
Metzger's explanation that the
prescription was for a patient, the
pharmacist promptly notified the Drug
Enforcement Administration.
Now the 38-year-old doctor is fighting
the DEA in Denver federal court for the
return of his 1999 Lexus RX300. The
$40,000 sport utility vehicle was seized
from Metzger's home earlier this month
under civil forfeiture rules that allow
law enforcement agencies to confiscate
property that may have been used to
commit a crime.
Metzger has yet to be charged with
breaking any law.
But the DEA says he has confessed to
prescribing narcotic medications "in the
names of friends, neighbors and family"
then using the drugs for himself.
According to court forfeiture documents,
Metzger told DEA agents that he had
been ingesting an average of four
Vicodin tablets a day for the past two
years. He also admitted to calling in
other bogus prescriptions for narcotics
and driving to various pharmacies to
have them filled, says a Sept. 29
affidavit signed by Denver DEA agent
Paul Jaster.
Last week in U.S. District Court,
Metzger filed a claim of ownership for
the Lexus, denying it was used "in any
manner to facilitate the transportation,
sale, (or) concealment of forfeitable
drugs."
Metzger, who the Colorado Board of
Medical Examiners says is no longer
practicing medicine but still holds a
valid Colorado medical license,
declined to comment on the forfeiture
case.
Peter Metzger, the doctor's father, said
his son had recently finished several
months of treatment at a drug
rehabilitation center and is trying to pull
his life back together.
"He was away for three months ... and
they (DEA) wait till now to seize his
car," Peter Metzger said. "We thought it
was strange. I can't see any reason
behind this."
Defense attorney calls seizure
excessive
Criminal defense attorneys say the case
is one of the most extreme applications
of asset-forfeiture laws they've seen in
Colo rado in years.
"It's legalized thievery," said Denver
attorney Larry Pozner, past president of
the National Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers.
"The government stole that car, and it's
disgusting. You have what appears to be
a citizen with a drug problem hurting no
one but himself and cooperating with
police. But instead of just trusting this
case to the criminal justice system, they
take away his car, which has virtually no
relationship to writing out a false
prescription."
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Russel
said the Lexus will remain with the DEA
unless Metzger can prove in court that
the luxury import was "innocent."
DEA spokesman Dennis Follett said the
absence of criminal charges against
Metzger is irrelevant. Forfeiture rules
require only that the DEA establish
"probable cause" that the Lexus was
used to obtain drugs illegally.
"At this point in time, the DEA has no
comment on the investigation," Follett
said.
Dick Weatherbee, spokesman for the
U.S. attorney's office in Denver,
defended the DEA's actions.
"The law permits seizure and forfeiture
independent of criminal charges or a
conviction," he said.
Even so, Weatherbee said "the fact that
there is no arrest in this case is not
indicative there won't be an arrest."
Weatherbee suggested there may be
more to Metzger's "confession" that he
ingested most of the controlled
substances he prescribed.
In checking Metzger's story, Weatherbee
said the DEA found that Metzger
authorized and personally picked up 96
controlled substance prescriptions -- "a
total of 5,760 dosage units" -- at 12
Denver-area pharmacies between May
1997 and May 1999.
In reviewing the case, Denver criminal
defense attorney Joseph Saint-Veltri
characterized the Lexus forfeiture as
"fairly extreme" for Colorado.
"I would consider it out of the ordinary,"
he said.
Originally intended as a weapon against
drug kingpins and smugglers, asset
forfeiture laws have been upheld by the
Supreme Court in cases involving other
criminal suspects and people suspected
of less serious drug offenses.
But Saint-Veltri said civil forfeitures
have been thrown out in cases in which
they appear to be out of line with the
suspected criminal conduct.
"The only moderator ... is essentially
that the forfeiture must be in some way
proportional to the criminal conduct,"
Saint-Veltri said.
--
Kathleen
The Pentagon says force recruits are in severe decline.
Army recruiting is at a 20-year low, and who can
understand why, when the Army's "Be all that you can be.
.." campaign has been downgraded to the "I want to hang
out with people as cool as me" campaign? Apparently, the
promise of poverty, food stamps and substandard housing
is not as big a draw as it once was.
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==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
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