The Sundowners Motorcycle Club said it owned the drug den seized by police and wanted the house back. But the only ownership document the club could offer was scrawled on the back of a Coors beer box.
Not good enough, a federal magistrate ruled this week.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Samuel Alba rejected the ownership claim of the Ogden-based club, which had argued it should not have to forfeit the house just because its Salt Lake City chapter used it as a methamphetamine lab.
"The lesson clearly is if you have a property interest . . . there needs to be written record and you need to record it in the county recorder's office," said Walter Bugden, an attorney for the Sundowners.
Alba also ruled that the federal government can keep $1,860 left in the Salt Lake chapter's checking account.
The house was seized in a 1999 drug bust that netted more than 40 convictions in state and federal court. An undercover agent who penetrated the clubhouse called it "a virtual fortress" with gun ports, steel window bars and yards monitored by motion detectors.
Alba's decision is only a recommendation and must be adopted by U.S. District Judge Dee Benson. But it brought relief to neighbors who feared the house could have reverted to a drug den.
"I've walked through it, and it's a health hazard," said federal prosecutor Bill Ryan. "I personally feel it would be best to eliminate it and put in a police station, a neighborhood community center or some other community-oriented facility."
Ryan said it was too soon to call in the bulldozers. The court could reject Alba's recommendation, or the Sundowners may appeal.