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On 6/7/2003 at 6:06 PM Swftl@aol.com <Swftl@aol.com> wrote:

Organization: Forfeiture Endangers American Rights  http://www.fear.org/
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Drug dealer ordered to return lottery winnings
Friday, June 6, 2003 Posted: 7:56 PM EDT (2356 GMT)

HOUSTON, Texas (Reuters) -- A Texas man who won $5.5 million in the 
state lottery has been ordered to give it up because he bought the 
winning ticket with money made selling cocaine, federal officials 
said Friday. 

Lawyers for Jose Luis Betancourt argued that the ticket was purchased 
with cash from selling old clothes, but a jury in federal court in 
Brownsville, Texas, disagreed and ruled Wednesday he had to forfeit 
the cash, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Herrera. 

Betancourt, 52, was arrested January 17, just three days after 
collecting the $5.5 million, for selling 36 grams of cocaine to an 
undercover agent. 

Prosecutors said he had been selling cocaine for at least two years 
before winning the lottery. 

He was found guilty of drug dealing last week and is behind bars 
awaiting sentencing that could put him in prison for life. 

Texas Lottery spokeswoman Kristina Tirloni said the forfeited money 
would go to the federal government, not the state. 

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