Out of some 50 cases, only one person showed interest Thursday in possibly regaining property that was seized by state police liquor enforcement agents in raids earlier this decade.
And he walked away empty-handed, despite the fact that the forfeiture action that perhaps should have been taken years ago was only now occurring.
"These were LCE cases handled by my predecessor," said Washington County District Attorney Steven Toprani. "We're not really sure why these forfeitures were never filed."
Toprani said he learned of the cases in February and immediately began the forfeiture process. The cases are from the years when John C. Pettit was the district attorney.
According to Toprani, all of the criminal cases that accompanied the forfeited property have long since been resolved.
The property seized in the cases included about 80 video gambling machines, about $8,000 in cash, numerous bottles of liquor and various other items.
The property has been stored at state police warehouses in Allegheny County, along with that seized through criminal investigations in several other counties in the district.
For the property to be forfeited, owners must be notified of the action.
In this case, property owners were notified, given 15 days to respond in writing and then notified of the court date when they could appear to object to forfeiture.
The only way an owner could get the property back is if it had no connection to criminal activity.
Assistant District Attorney Chad Schneider, who filed the forfeiture petitions Thursday with Judge John DiSalle, said no personal belongings were seized in the raids.
The lone property owner to appeal the forfeiture, who would not give his name, said he was a bar owner in Burgettstown when it was raided in 2001. He said machines and cash were seized.
Since the raid, the man no longer owns the bar but was interested in having the property returned.
"I didn't get an attorney, because if I don't have a case then it didn't cost me anything," he said.
Now that the property has been forfeited, the video machines and other items will be destroyed. The cash will be split between the state and the county. Toprani said the county's portion of the money will go to his office's vice unit.
Meanwhile, Toprani said he's taking steps to better protect property interests and to ensure that forfeitures like these are taken care of appropriately.