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At $5,400, the 1995 Volkswagen Golf seemed to be a steal, or so thought Helen Chappell and her son when they bought it this spring from the government.
But two months later the engine quit. Suspecting a fuel problem, a mechanic at a Kansas City, Mo., garage checked the gas tank where he found $82,000 inside plastic bundles.
The Chappells thought they had won the lottery. The federal government did not agree.
U.S. Atty. Stephen Hill has filed a complaint in federal court, saying the money should go to the Department of Justice because the car and cash may have been used in illegal drug activity three years ago. Jeffrey Chappell, Helen Chappell’s son, maintains they should get the money because they bought the car “as is.”
