Branford- Drugs and the devastation they cause to towns and families don't often have a silver lining but last week the Branford Police Department was presented with a check for $198,556 by Connecticut District Attorney Kevin J. O' Connor. The funds are the department's share of the net proceeds of two federal forfeiture cases that recently settled in civil court.
In March 2003, the Branford Police Department along with the DEA began an investigation into illegal drug activity occurring at a residence, 39 Knollwood Drive in Branford, after receiving a tip that large amounts of cocaine were being bought and resold there.
After weeks of surveillance, officers of the Branford Police Department executed a search warrant on the home and seized almost $60,000 in cash, cocaine packaged for distribution, and several illegal weapons on Nov. 7, 2003.
Shortly after the arrest of the owners, Vincent Gaetano and Linda Palmese, the federal government initiated forfeiture proceedings against 39 Knollwood Drive and more than $400,000 in seized funds from the residence, bank accounts, and a safe deposit box.
The Branford Police Department's share after the settlement, which allowed the defendants to keep their home and some of the seized money, amounted to almost $200,000, the largest seizure settlement the town has ever gotten.
According to Branford Police Chief Robert Gill, the funds will be a huge benefit to the department and the town.
“This is a very, very significant asset for the department,” said Gill.
The Branford PD was largely responsible for the investigation and Gill had praise for not only his officers but the other entities involved in the operation and subsequent prosecution as well.
“The officers who worked on this case, as usual, did themselves and the department proud—they are a great bunch of guys. The cooperation extended by all parties was very gratifying. The chief state's attorney, the DEA—it was a collaboration of all three. This could not have happened without the cooperation of everyone involved,” Gill said.
Like many big checks from the government, the money comes with restrictions as to how it can be used. The Department of Justice only allows seized funds to be used for law enforcement and by law the funds have to be approved for use by the Department of Justice.
According to Gill, the process of applying the funds to specific projects can be a gray area but there is a system in place to monitor how the money is used.
“You have to be careful, very diligent in what you do. Everything we do is first run by the Board of Police Commissioners for an okay and to the extent necessary to seek approval of the Board of Finance,” said Gill. “You can't use these funds to replace local funds that have been cut from a budget.”
Gill couldn't comment on how the funds might be spent because of the lengthy approval process but he did state the money would be put to the best use for residents.