Pubdate: Sat, 26 Jan 2008 Source: Tucson Citizen (AZ) Copyright: 2008 Tucson Citizen Contact: http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/461 Author: A. J. Flick Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture) FAMILY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN OF POT RISK, COURT RULES The Arizona Court of Appeals issued a warning last week to an East Coast family that owned two Tucson townhomes. Rehiring a property manager after he used one townhome as a marijuana stash house means the owner risks losing the other townhome if it, too, becomes a stash house. In a decision issued Jan. 18, a panel unanimously upheld Pima County Superior Court Judge John F. Kelly's ruling that the family should have known criminal activity might occur and the townhomes can be seized. Norman Goldstein bought Belle Vista townhomes at 8428 E. Agape Drive and 8444 E. Agape Drive, near Speedway Boulevard and Camino Seco, according to the decision. Goldstein put the title in his children's names but remained the property agent. The Goldsteins live in New York and New Jersey, the decision said. Goldstein hired Greg Shepis of Tucson to manage the properties. Goldstein fired Shepis after learning from a newspaper story in 2001 that Shepis pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana for sale. The state moved to seize the property at 8428 E. Agape Drive, saying Shepis used that and other properties to stash marijuana, the decision says. However, Goldstein rehired Shepis six months later. In 2003, the state moved to seize the property at 8444 E. Agape Drive, saying Shepis used it to stash marijuana. The Goldsteins appealed the forfeiture, saying the property was exempt because the family didn't know it was being used for a crime. The court ruled the family "could reasonably have known of the illegal activity or that it was likely to reoccur," which made the property eligible for forfeiture. The decision doesn't say what action was taken against Shepis in either of the cases. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin