Many years ago, long before he was president, John F. Kennedy owned a sailboat. Over the years it has passed through many hands.

Currently, it belongs to Gregory Olaf Anderson and Harry Crosby. Unfortunately, Anderson was convicted of drug smuggling, and authorities traced the cash back to Anderson's sale of marijuana.

Kennedy bought the Star Class sloop "Flash II" in 1934 and sailed it in races off Hyannis. He sold the boat in 1942 just before shipping out for World War II.

Anderson, who bought the boat in 1996, was arrested in Arizona in 2001 and sentenced to 18 months in prison for transporting 1,300 pounds of marijuana.

After his release, he allegedly contacted a partner with the intention of setting up another drug trafficking business, not knowing that the partner was cooperating with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

DEA agents, acting on a tip from that informant, seized the boat from a storage facility in Marblehead last year.

Kerner said his client, who owns a construction company, is confident the sailboat will fetch more than $500,000 at auction.

IGiven when the boat was purchased, it wouldn't surprise me if the money came from Kennedy's father, Joseph P. Kennedy -- who is known to have been involved in bootlegging during Prohibition. It therefore seems appropriate that we've come full circle, with the boat becoming governemnt property because of drug smuggling.