« Last day to register to vote in Mass. presidential primary | Today | Mass. to count bald eagles »

January 16, 2008

Judge: Government had no right to seize JFK sailboat

BOSTON -- A federal judge has ruled that the government had no right to seize and auction a sailboat once owned by John F. Kennedy.

The 22-foot sailboat was taken in 2004 by the government, which alleged a convicted marijuana dealer used drug-related profits to set up the purchase of the boat around 1996 by several investors.

But Judge William Young says the government failed to prove drug money was used to buy and refurbish the boat.

He ordered the government to pay $125,000 to one of the boat's co-owners, Dr. Kerry Scott Lane.

The government says it will appeal, and so does Lane. He says the boat is much more valuable and he should have been awarded more.

Kennedy raced the sloop as a teenager. He sold it in 1942, right before he shipped out to the Pacific in World War II.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry  at 9:42 AM | Permalink

Comments

Post a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)