Reporting from NEPM and The Republican

A western Massachusetts court case highlights the “lack of clear timelines required for reporting property seized,” the state’s advisory committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights wrote in a 2023 report.

While many departments' state and federal forfeiture expenditures are related to policing, they also shelled out seized cash for everything from trophies and an ice cream truck to public-relations consulting.

For police and prosecutors, civil asset forfeiture is a tool they say helps them thwart criminal enterprises. Others, however, say the practice amounts to “little more than legalized theft.” Reporters from NEPM and The Republican teamed up to investigate the issue.

The resignation came after a morning press conference at which the main target of Superintendent Daniel Warwick’s comments, Latonia Monroe Naylor, defended herself and her family.

The comments by Superintendent Daniel Warwick appear to have been captured in a voicemail message he did not intend to leave. Warwick refers by name to the family of LaTonia Monroe Naylor, a member of the Springfield School Committee.