Can a criminal conviction for an illegal activity be reduced to a civil forfeiture?

Criminal fines, civil penalties, civil forfeitures and taxes [imposed upon illegal activities] all share certain features. They generate government revenues, impose fiscal burdens on individuals, and deter certain behavior. All of these sanctions are subject to constitutional constraints. Agovernment may [169 Misc.2d 116] not impose criminal fines without first establishing guilt by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. (Cf. In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970). A defendant convicted and punished for an offense may not have a nonremedial civil penalty imposed against him for the same offense in a separate proceeding. Halper, supra. A civil forfeiture may violate the Eighth Amendment's proscription against excessive fines. Austin v. United States, 509 U.S. 602, 113 S.Ct. 2801, 125 L.Ed.2d 488 (1993).