DEA to Keep $18K Found at DC Station

WASHINGTON (AP) -- After a court battle, a judge has ruled that federal agents will keep nearly $18,000 found in a backpack on an Amtrak train at Washington's Union Station.

WRC-TV reports (http://bit.ly/…) the judge ruled Wednesday that two New York City women who made formal claims for the cash were not credible enough to be given possession of the money. The cash will go to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

In 2014, a good Samaritan told police he had found $17,900 in a backpack that he mistakenly carried off a train.

Authorities traced the backpack to a man named Peter Rodriguez, who was later arrested for selling drugs in New York City.

Rodriguez's mother and her domestic partner formally claimed ownership of the money and asked in a court order for the cash. A federal judge said the couple's story "defies common sense."

(KA)