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PASADENA, Calif. - A car purchased at a U.S. marshal's auction four years ago had a hidden surprise for its new owner: 119 pounds of marijuana hidden in the bumpers.

The buyer, Jose Aguado Cervantes, didn't know about the hidden stash until he was stopped at the U.S.-Mexican border three months later. Cervantes, 67, spent three months in jail as a result.

Cervantes is seeking damages for the government's error, alleging negligence, false imprisonment and false arrest. While an appeals court in Pasadena said Monday that he cannot recover damages for false arrest and imprisonment, his negligence claim against the federal government "is an entirely different matter."

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the government's argument against Cervantes' negligence claim is "patently without merit" and "so off-the-mark as to be embarrassing."

"Cervantes remained similarly unaware of the contraband until its discovery by U.S. customs agents as he tried to cross the U.S. border on Oct. 22, 1999," the appeals court said. "Although Cervantes denied knowledge of the marijuana and informed agents that he had purchased the vehicle at a U.S. marshal's auction, he was arrested and incarcerated."

Government officials eventually dropped the charges, but not before Cervantes spent time in jail awaiting trial.

Acacia wrote:Actually, I think you may have encouraged certain people to buy from Govt. auctions!

Acacia wrote:Actually, I think you may have encouraged certain people to buy from Govt. auctions!

A 77-year-old woman -- not the federal government -- can keep $82,000 found in her car's gas tank.

In a case that captured national attention, a federal judge ruled this week that Helen Chappell is the rightful owner of the cash, which federal agents seized last year after a mechanic found it in her 1995 Volkswagen Golf.

"It's not often that a 77-year-old woman can beat one of the most powerful adversaries in the world," said Paul Katz, the attorney who sued the government for Chappell and her son to get the money back.

The car had been part of a drug investigation before Helen and Jeffrey Chappell bought it "as is" at a federal government auction last year. But it quickly developed a fuel problem, and a mechanic found the cash floating in bundles in the tank.

Sea Skimmer wrote:I wonder what I'll find in the old Minuteman silo I want to buy.

Beowulf wrote:

Sea Skimmer wrote:I wonder what I'll find in the old Minuteman silo I want to buy.

Good question... Probably not a Minuteman...

Acacia wrote:Actually, I think you may have encouraged certain people to buy from Govt. auctions!