Thursday's Internet Edition, July 24, 2008.

As a settlement in a pending drug forfeiture case, the county could receive the money from the owner of the home who would, in turn, get to keep the property.

Prosecutor Mark Sergent said he has filed drug forfeiture actions against vehicles and cash in the past, but this is the first time he has filed forfeiture against a house.

“This would be our largest one so far,” he said.

In forfeiture cases, property used in the drug trade can be seized and sold to pay the cost of future drug investigations.

Sergent said the $50,000 figure has been discussed in negotiations, but the case has not been settled.

Regina Veltri-Kee, 40, owns the home at 66 Wood Drive, just off U.S. 119 on the Kanawha County line.

She was arrested twice last year for attempting to operate a clandestine drug lab, in February and again in October, and pled guilty to both charges when she appeared in Roane Circuit Court in March of this year.

She returned to court last Thursday with her attorneys, Tom Price and Walton “Tony” Shepherd, for sentencing.

Price told Judge Tom Evans that Veltri-Kee had completed a voluntary commitment to an inpatient drug treatment program, and had kicked her boyfriend out of the home. As part of the program, he said she was supposed to attend 90 outpatient sessions in 90 days.

Shepherd told Evans his client had been involved with drugs since the age of 13. “She has a terrible drug history,” he said.

Price discussed the forfeiture and said it was a good deal for his client and for the state.

He said Veltri-Kee would be able to keep her home, and the state would not have to go through the expense of cleaning it up and putting it up for sale.

He said his client had money in a trust fund and would make a “good faith” deposit this week.

Sergent said after the hearing he expected that deposit to be $10,000 or $15,000.

Veltri-Kee is the daughter of the late Frank Veltri, a well-known Charleston businessman who provided a free Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless each year. The meal has continued after his death with a trust set up for the purpose.

In the hearing, Price told Evans Veltri-Kee did not manufacture or sell drugs. He said she allowed people to stay at her home and deal in drugs as a way of feeding her own addiction.

“She allowed people in her home in exchange for free drugs,” he said.

He also said a state trooper had moved into a home next door and would be able to keep an eye on activity at the house if she was released on home confinement or probation.

“Incarceration isn’t going to serve any purpose,” Shepherd said. “She has taken great steps to clean up her life.”

Evans noted that Veltri-Kee had been convicted on a federal drug charge in 1996 and was sentenced to a year in prison.

Evans said he was concerned about her past record and the fact that she was arrested twice for similar crimes last year.

“This court has serious, serious reservations about whether, after a lifetime of drug abuse, your client can live within the terms of home confinement or probation,” Evans told the attorneys.

Evans also rejected a suggestion that Veltri-Kee undergo a 60-day evaluation before final sentencing. Instead he ordered her to serve concurrent sentences of 2-to-10 years on the charges.

Evans ordered her to begin serving the sentences immediately. He did not impose a fine, which could have been up to $25,000 per charge.

After the hearing Sheriff Todd Cole said his department, as the arresting agency, stood to receive 90 percent of the forfeiture amount, with the prosecutor’s office to receive the remaining 10 percent.

Under the forfeiture law, Cole said he could share the money with agencies that assisted. Since the Jackson County Sheriff’s Dept. helped on the case, he said he planned to do that.

“We’ll probably give them 5 percent.” Cole said.

Sergent said the funds are not supposed to be used for normal operating expenses. He said the money could be used for equipment costs or other expenses related to drug investigations.

Sergent said forfeiture against a home is not always feasible, such as cases where an innocent spouse is also an owner or where there is a lien on the property.