Monday, March 18, 2013
Ortiz makes announcement regarding appeal of judge's ruling.
The saga of Russ Caswell and the Federal Government has finally reached a conclusion. Last week, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz announced that she would not appeal a Federal Judge's ruling in January, denying the government's claim for seizing the Motel Caswell because of what it claimed was an ongoing pattern of drug activity. Federal prosecutors had argued that Caswell, who lives next door to the motel, must have kn own about the drug activity going on at his business and did nothing to stop it. Lawyers for the Institute for Justice, which took the case pro bono, argued that the government and Tewksbury Police had conspired to try and seize the property, then sell it off and split the proceeds.
42.620131
-71.257593
Motel Caswell
450 Main St, Tewksbury, MA
/articles/u-s-attorney-makes-decision-regarding-motel-caswell-appeal
781130
/locations/9038906
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
U.S. Attorney has not ruled out the possibility of appealing court ruling.
Any thoughts Motel Caswell owner Russ Caswell had that he had seen the last of Federal Law Enforcement appear to be a bit premature. According to an article published on Bostonherald.com, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz is considering appealing the decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith Dein, who ruled that the Tewksbury motel was not subject to forfeiture, as argued by Ortiz' office. "I don't put anything past them," said Caswell. "As I said before, it's like they don't have anything better to do." Starting in 2009, the Department of Justice had attempted to seize the Motel Caswell and the property it sits on, arguing that there had been a long history of illegal activity at the motel, including drugs and prostitution, which Caswell knew …
42.620131
-71.257593
Motel Caswell
450 Main St, Tewksbury, MA
/articles/caswell-may-not-be-out-of-the-legal-woods-quite-yet
781130
/locations/8697827
Monday, November 5, 2012
Prosecutors are asking to be allowed to seize the property due to a history of criminal activity by motel guests.
Russ Caswell wanted his day in court -- today he gets it. The owner of the Motel Caswell and his attorney's are in U.S. District Court in Boston today, trying to stop the Department of Justice from seizing the motel and the property it sits on. Federal prosecutors are basing their claim for seizure based on eight drug arrests that occurred at the motel between 2001 and 2008 and more than 100 narcotics investigations involving the motel dating back to 1994, according to an Associated Press article published in the Boston Herald. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office called it "an important case" for Tewksbury and as a reminder to other motel and hotel owners that they are responsible for taking whatever actions they can to prevent …
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Disgraced chemist processed evidence on nine cases related to the Tewksbury motel.
The Federal Government's case against Russ Caswell has taken a hit with revelations that a disgraced chemist working at the State Crime Lab may have tainted evidence in several cases related to the Motel Caswell. A trial is scheduled to begin on Nov. 5 in U.S. District Court, in which Federal Prosecutors will attempt to prove that the Motel Caswell, located on Route 38 in Tewksbury, is subject to federal forfeiture laws because of a pattern of drug related offenses committed on the motel property over several years. Prosecutors were prepared to cite 28 cases, dating as far back as 1994, according to an article published in the Lowell Sun. However, that number has now been trimmed to 19. According to Sun article, Assistant U.S. Attorney …
42.620131
-71.257593
Motel Caswell
450 Main St, Tewksbury, MA
/articles/feds-case-against-motel-caswell-dealt-a-setback
781130
/locations/8027191
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Does the government have the right to seize the property of a person not accused of a crime?
(Editor's note: The technical error has been fixed and voting is open for this poll.) The Department of Justice is trying to seize the Motel Caswell, owned by Russ Caswell, claiming he was aware of criminal activity on the property and took no action. What do you think?
42.620131
-71.257593
Motel Caswell
450 Main St, Tewksbury, MA
/articles/poll-of-the-week-should-the-doj-seize-the-motel-caswell
781130
/locations/5630323
Paul Fournier
12:52 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
I'd like to see this dump AND the motel 6 burn to the ground... TWO eyesores that Tewksbury does NOT need. This town USED to be a great place to raise a family, now it is no better than LOWELL... more ›