Covelli v. Commissioner of Revenue Services

The sole issue in this appeal1 is whether, pursuant to General Statutes § 12-651 (a)2 the defendant, the commissioner of revenue services (commissioner), may collect a tax on illegal drugs assessed against the plaintiff, Vito Covelli, after the plaintiff had been arrested, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced for the possession of those same drugs with intent to sell in violation of General Statutes § 21a-277 (a).3 The com*541missioner appeals from the trial court’s judgment prohibiting the imposition of the tax as violative of the double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment to the United States…