Margaret B. Spagnuolo, Plaintiff-Appellant v. Joseph A. Bonnet, Formerly Sheriff of Essex County, Neil G. Duffy…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed the lower court's judgment that the $50,000 seized in a gambling raid was not the property of the plaintiff, Margaret B. Spagnuolo, but belonged to her son, Edward Spagnuolo, and was contraband subject to forfeiture to the County of Essex. The Court also held that the County's title, arising from the seizure, preceded the United States' tax lien and therefore the federal lien could not attach to the seized funds.