§ 1349 — Disposal of property

§ 1349. Disposal of property. 1. Any judgment or order of forfeiture\nissued pursuant to this article shall include provisions for the\ndisposal of the property found to have been forfeited.\n 2. If any other provision of law expressly governs the manner of\ndisposition of property subject to the judgment or order of forfeiture,\nthat provision of law shall be controlling, with the exception that,\nnotwithstanding the provisions of any other law, all forfeited monies\nand proceeds from forfeited property shall be deposited into and\ndisbursed from an asset forfeiture escrow fund established pursuant to\nsection six-v of the general municipal law, which shall govern the\nmaintenance of such monies and proceeds from forfeited property. Upon\napplication by a claiming agent for reimbursement of moneys directly\nexpended by a claiming agent in the underlying criminal investigation\nfor the purchase of contraband which were converted into a non-monetary\nform or which have not been otherwise recovered, the court shall direct\nsuch reimbursement from money forfeited pursuant to this article. Upon\napplication of the claiming agent, the court may direct that any\nvehicles, vessels or aircraft forfeited pursuant to this article be\nretained by the claiming agent for law enforcement purposes, unless the\ncourt determines that such property is subject to a perfected lien, in\nwhich case the court may not direct that the property be retained unless\nall such liens on the property to be retained have been satisfied or\npursuant to the court's order will be satisfied. In the absence of an\napplication by the claiming agent, the claiming authority may apply to\nthe court to retain such property for law enforcement purposes. Upon\nsuch application, the court may direct that such property be retained by\nthe claiming authority for law enforcement purposes, unless the court\ndetermines that such property is subject to a perfected lien. If not so\nretained, the judgment or order shall direct the claiming authority to\nsell the property in accordance with article fifty-one of this chapter,\nand that the proceeds of such sale and any other moneys realized as a\nconsequence of any forfeiture pursuant to this article shall be\ndeposited to an asset forfeiture escrow fund established pursuant to\nsection six-v of the general municipal law and shall be apportioned and\npaid in the following descending order of priority:\n (a) Amounts ordered to be paid by the court in satisfaction of any\nlien or claim against property forfeited. A fine imposed pursuant to the\npenal law shall not be deemed to constitute a lien or claim for purposes\nof this section;\n (b) Amounts ordered to be paid by the defendant in any other action or\nproceeding as restitution, reparations or damages to a victim of the\ncrime, which crime constitutes the basis upon which forfeiture was\neffected under this article, to the extent such amounts remain unpaid;\n (c) Amounts ordered to be paid by the defendant in any other action or\nproceeding as restitution, reparations or damages to a victim of any\ncrime committed by the defendant even though such crime did not\nconstitute the basis for forfeiture under this article, to the extent\nthat such amounts remain unpaid;\n (d) Amounts actually expended by a claiming authority or claiming\nagent, which amounts are substantiated by vouchers or other evidence,\nfor the: (i) maintenance and operation of real property attached\npursuant to this article. Expenditures authorized by this subparagraph\nare limited to mortgage, tax and other financial obligations imposed by\nlaw and those other payments necessary to provide essential services and\nrepairs to real property whose occupants are innocent of the criminal\nconduct which led to the attachment or forfeiture; and\n (ii) proper storage, cleanup and disposal of hazardous substances or\nother materials, the disposal of which is governed by the environmental\nconservation law, when such storage, cleanup or disposal is required by\ncircumstances attendant to either the commission of the crime or the\nforfeiture action, or any order entered pursuant thereto;\n (e) In addition to amounts, if any, distributed pursuant to paragraph\n(d) of this subdivision, fifteen percent of all moneys realized through\nforfeiture to the claiming authority in satisfaction of actual costs and\nexpenses incurred in the investigation, preparation and litigation of\nthe forfeiture action, including that proportion of the salaries of the\nattorneys, clerical and investigative personnel devoted thereto, plus\nall costs and disbursements taxable under the provisions of this\nchapter;\n (f) In addition to amounts, if any, distributed pursuant to paragraph\n(d) of this subdivision, five percent of all moneys realized through\nforfeiture to the claiming agent in satisfaction of actual costs\nincurred for protecting, maintaining and forfeiting the property\nincluding that proportion of the salaries of attorneys, clerical and\ninvestigative personnel devoted thereto;\n (g) Forty percent of all moneys realized through forfeiture which are\nremaining after distributions pursuant to paragraphs (a) through (f) of\nthis subdivision, to the chemical dependence service fund established\npursuant to section ninety-seven-w of the state finance law;\n (h) All moneys remaining after distributions pursuant to paragraphs\n(a) through (g) of this subdivision shall be distributed as follows:\n (i) seventy-five percent of such moneys shall be deposited to a law\nenforcement purposes subaccount of the general fund of the state where\nthe claiming agent is an agency of the state or the political\nsubdivision or public authority of which the claiming agent is a part,\nto be used for law enforcement use in the investigation of penal law\noffenses or law enforcement assisted diversion;\n (ii) the remaining twenty-five percent of such moneys shall be\ndeposited to a prosecution services subaccount of the general fund of\nthe state where the claiming authority is the attorney general or the\npolitical subdivision of which the claiming authority is a part, to be\nused for the prosecution of penal law offenses.\n Where multiple claiming agents participated in the forfeiture action,\nfunds available pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be\ndisbursed to the appropriate law enforcement purposes subaccounts in\naccordance with the terms of a written agreement reflecting the\nparticipation of each claiming agent entered into by the participating\nclaiming agents.\n 3. All moneys distributed to the claiming agent and the claiming\nauthority pursuant to paragraph (h) of subdivision two of this section\nshall be used to enhance law enforcement efforts and not in\nsupplantation of ordinary budgetary costs including salaries of\npersonnel, and expenses of the claiming authority or claiming agent\nduring the fiscal year in which this section takes effect.\n 4. The claiming authority shall report the disposal of property and\ncollection of assets pursuant to this section to the office of victim\nservices, the state division of criminal justice services and the state\ndivision of substance abuse services.\n 5. Monies and proceeds from the sale of property realized as a\nconsequence of any forfeiture distributed to the claiming agent or\nclaiming authority of any county, town, city, or village of which the\nclaiming agent or claiming authority is a part, shall be deposited to an\nasset forfeiture escrow fund established pursuant to section six-v of\nthe general municipal law.\n