If they didn't rent a room to a minority because they may have thought that person was dealing/using drugs they would be facing descrimination charges in federal court. Total waste of my hard earned money.

I know Motel Caswell isn't exactly a very popular and well-liked spot in Tewksbury. I constantly see it getting slammed by people. But I can't help but feel a little sorry,

"...he admitted he had no evidence that Russ Caswell knew of any illegal activity before an arrest was made"

"He and Peterson bother [both?] admitted they had never sat down and talked to Caswell about ways to improve security and safety at the motel"

Maybe I'm reading into this wrong, but this sounds a bit unfortunate and sloppy.

If they take someone's property after only 10 calls in 12 years, and never talking to the owner, what if they make more than that to someone's house? This case is bogus.

I do believe our Police Chief needs some more training in being a police chief. The defense argues that ...Caswell operated in "complete transparency," even cooperating with police by letting them use empty motel rooms for drug stings, Salzman said.
How many arrests at Motel 6?

Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/todaysheadlines/ci_21938315/1st-salvos-motel-caswell-drug-forfeiture-trial#ixzz2Bdt1ssis

They just want to take their property! This is insane, I mean really there is crime everywhere in Tewksbury and everywhere else and they don't just TAKE the property. At the very worst they should have them close the hotel but to TAKE the property????? This is a scam!

This is not good for business owners. It will make a bad relation ship between business owner and the police

Why not take the motel 6 drug activity why single out one place ?

Go sit at IHOP and watch the activity at Motel 6.....Lets take their property too or do they have too much money to fight back with. This is a crazy waste of our tax dollars. Our money & time would be much better spent getting drugs off the street. If we go with the route of taking one's property, Tewksbury is going to have a very small population. 10 calls in 12 years isn't such a bad average seeing I have neighbors that have 10 calls in one year!

the argument of the Caswell vs. Motel 6 is that the Caswell family lives next to the motel. Motel 6 is a chain and the "owners" are not onsite, so they can't seize it.

For the record, I disagree with the feds taking this property, however, I do feel that the police activity there is an issue. One problem is you see some of these people arrested over and over again for the same thing. They arrest someone on a warrant and the courts let them out the next day. While perhaps the Caswells can do more with regards to security, the bigger picture is the drug problem as a whole wich is an epidemic. Whether they are caught here or somewhere else, it doesn't stop the drug use and it's additional problems (car breaks, shoplifting, robberies, etc). The feds taking this location will just punish the owners of the property and not, in any way, solve any drug problems for us.

I would hardly call a "series of 15 drug arrests and investigations at the motel between 1994 and 2008" an epidemic.

Beside it being worrisome thatt he govt can seize property so easily, I think the TPD should have spent some time and/or effort with the Casewell's to ensure they were not promoting drug activity. The Caswells' pockets aren't as deep as motel 6, but the activity there is just as unsavory... The police testimory doesn't seem to support the Caswells knowledge not to mention the fact that the arrests made are falling apart because of the state's testing facility scandal that will let more dealers out on the street, where will they and up, places like the Caswell and Motel 6.

How desperate would you have to be to stay at that hotel? It grosses me out just driving by I can't imagine paying to sleep in a bed or use the shower there. Just nasty.

OK, let me get this correct. The Police find and arrest one Illegal Drug Dealer @ a business every 2 years. (The OWNER assists in the arrest) This gives Obama's Eric DOJ Holder the right to steal the property? (This is the same DOJ Holder that ILLEGALLY moved guns from America to Mexico that killed an American Guard= A serious Criminal Matter) Where is the "Justice" in the DOJ? If the DOJ & Town Police can confiscate a property because there is a drug arrest every year or two, no person's home, office or business is safe from the local Police (Who receive/sell for profit) and Eric Holder's USA Gov. Department of Justice. (a misnomer)
These are the most dreadful Big Brother events in America, the land of the free!

Those numbers are b.s.. I don't believe one word of this report. I don't know what's going on here, but this story is not the truth about the history at all! Period.

Anyone familiar with this hotel knows the riff raff that it brings to the town and the many problems it has had throughout the years. The number of arrests are simply those that were caught, not the actual number of people participating in illegal activity there. If you are going to complain about the safety of your town and the drug problems plaguing your children, then think long and hard about how "fair" it is to not shut down one of the biggest hubs of the problem. The Caswell is dump. It has been a dump for 30+ years. If the owner had any pride in his property, he would do what it takes to make it right. Instead, he has been turning his head and pretending he doesn't understand what is going on there. We've all become way to over sensitive when it comes to people's rights. If someone had this many problems at their home, they would be in jail. This is no different. Caswell has been feeding the drug trade for years and if you want to argue against that - then go sit in the lobby on any given Friday night and look at the people checking in. If you want to continue to support rampant drug abuse, drug dealing and overdoses in your town....fight for this guy to keep his motel open.

How do you figure this is a money grab? The police did their job in making arrests and alerting the owner when deaths or illegal activity had occurred. If people are up in arms now about the potential closure of this hotel - what would they have done when the police decided to investigate Caswell proactively. The police did speak to Caswell after each and every incident. Is that not enough? How many chances should the guy get? You can only play the ignorance card for so long. Tell me, do the police go and talk to the owner of a crack house before they make a bust? Do you think that would be impactful? No. Caswell built his business on serving junkies and low lifes and everyone with a pulse knows it. Why should he get special treatment? The police spoke to him after each incident and the writing was on the wall. It is time we stop protecting the people that are single handedly bringing this country down. Nobody's rights are being infringed upon here. He has facilitated unlawful activity for years. The police reports and complaints are living documents of this. How much more do we need? How many chances do we have to give people these days? Come on, Bob. Get real.