VAN BUREN – The Federal District Court decision about the ownership of $165,500 found by two railway workers in February 2005 could become even thornier if the Town of Van Buren decides to jump into the fray.

The court will ultimately decide who owns the money. In the running are the two men who found the money, the federal government and a Van Buren individual.

A state law could give Van Buren a good part of the money, according to Town Manager Larry Cote.

“We are looking into it,” Cote said Monday. “There is a state law that unclaimed money can be divided between the finder of the money and the town.

“The town could get as much as half of it, after all fees are paid,” Cote said. “We have a lawyer looking at this right now.”

The federal government, through U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby and Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald E. Clark, has filed a complaint for civil forfeiture of the money, claiming the money represents the proceeds of drug trafficking and also that it is in violation of federal law to transport more than $10,000 in cash across international borders without reporting it. They filed for forfeiture on Feb. 7, 2006.

Daniel D. Madore and Traves Lapointe, the two railway workers who found the money along the tracks of the Maine, Montreal and Atlantic Railway on Feb. 4, 2005, filed a claim as finders of lost property on June 8, 2006.

Allen Gagnon, 44, of Van Buren claims the money is his. He claims he lost the bag full of money when he was snowmobiling. The money, he claims, is his life savings and that he lost it while bringing it to his sister’s house in Madawaska. Gagnon made his claim to the money to the U.S. Border Patrol three days after the money was found.

When he noticed his bag was missing on Feb. 4, 2005, he doubled back on his snowmobile tracks and noticed that Border Patrol agents had his bag.

He told his interviewers he did not make a claim to the bag at the time because the agents were “gung-ho and aggressive,” according to court papers.

According to Clark, the action is a “simple forfeiture claim” and is just beginning to make its way through federal court. He said the case is in discovery stage.

Border Patrol agents, who received the bag of money from the railway employees on the day it was found, reportedly used a drug sniffing dog, which indicated a positive alert for drugs on the money.

Now Van Buren’s attorney, Sam Lanham of Bangor, is researching to see whether the town has a claim since it was found within the confines of the town.

Cote said the town has acquired a copy of the government’s claim to the money.

“I think it’s a long shot, but it’s worth a try,” he said Monday.