DEA Seeks Forfeiture of Campground Because of Drug Use at Concerts
For four years, criminal investigators have attended concerts at a Missouri campground owned by a member of a Grateful Dead tribute band, but they weren’t there for the music.
According to a complaint filed in federal court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the investigators witnessed drug use and bought drugs during concerts at the Camp Zoe campground, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Now federal officials are seeking forfeiture of the grounds, valued at about $600,000.
The owner of Camp Zoe is Jimmy Tebeau, a member of a tribute band called the Schwag. His lawyer, Dan Viets, told the Post-Dispatch that the civil forfeiture law unfairly allows the government to seize property from innocent owners.
“One doesn’t even need to be accused of a crime, let alone convicted of one, to be threatened with the loss of everything you own,” Viets said. “That’s the threat.”
The federal complaint was jointly filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Attorney’s office.
