With this being the second time, a federal appeals court has ruled that a pair of professional gamblers can sue a narcotics officer that seized $97,000 in cash, when he suspected that the pair had been taking part in drug trafficking. The case came before a panel in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, and the decision came down that the pair, Gina Fiore and Keith Gibson had the right to sue Anthony Walden, the DEA agent who confiscated the cash.
The decision was 2 to 1, and now the suit will be heading back to the District Court in Las Vegas. It is expected that both the gamblers will continue with their claim, and make an attempt to retrieve the funds that were taken from them. Walden, visibily upset with the decision, argued that since he had no property in the Nevada area, that the Nevada court should have no jurisdiction over this case, in an attempt to have the case stay on the federal level.
He asked that the full circuit court hear the case, but was rejected at the time. Despite this fact, the suit was allowed to continue, and both gamblers are likely going to be pursuing the money that was confiscated from them illegally. They had been returning from gambling in the casinos in Puerto Rico, when they were stopped by a number of federal agents in the airport, and were asked questions about possible drug and gun connections. The couple explained to the officers that there $30,000 that they originally had was their original gambling money, and the amount that they came back with was their winnings from the trip.
It was at that time that a narcotics dog started scratching at the back of Gibson, and the agency seized the money on grounds that it may have been used in several narcotics dealings in Puerto Rico. The couple had no money on them at this point, not even enough for a taxi in Las Vegas. Once the couple had arrived in Las Vegas once again, they were able to send the federal agents tax returns that show that they were indeed professional gamblers, including records of some of their trips, and receipts from their payouts and purchases. The money was not immediately returned at the time, and the federal agents maintain that they believe that the affidavit that they received in order to return the money, had been forged. As a result, the money was never returned, and since that time, the couple has been attempting to put together a case.