Special Report from the New Yorker Magazine 7/29/2008

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Indoor pot farms raided; millions in marijuana seized

Homes rewired, refurbished to hide operations

Thousands of marijuana plants that could have generated millions of dollars a year in illegal profits were seized Tuesday during raids on three homes in Riverside County, authorities said.

Marijuana-growing facilities were shut down in Eastvale, Hemet and Riverside, in an operation targeting a total of eight homes in three Southern California counties. Four people were arrested, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

“Drug traffickers are using sophisticated equipment and measures to transform their seemingly quiet suburban homes into illicit marijuana grow operations,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Landrum.

“These lucrative illegal operations can function with little scrutiny, which makes them attractive to the criminal element, but put our communities in harm's way.”

This morning's sweep involved DEA agents, Riverside County sheriff's deputies, Riverside police, San Bernardino County sheriff's personnel, IRS and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents, according to DEA agent Sarah Pullen.

A search warrant was executed at one home in San Bernardino County and four homes in Los Angeles County, according to Pullen.

She said five indoor marijuana cultivation facilities were identified — three of which were in the Riverside County locations — containing 5,600 plants, which could have yielded $60 million a year worth of marijuana sales.

An Eastvale residence contained 1,200 marijuana plants, with an estimated value of $3.5 million, according Riverside County sheriff's Investigator Jerry Franchville.

He said the 3,500-square-foot home, which lies at the edge of Providence Park in the unincorporated community, was rigged with assorted electrical devices to saturate the home with indoor light.

“There's all kinds of wiring in this house,” Franchville said. “There's extra circuit breakers, grow lights that assimilate the sun, timers. It's pretty intricate.”

He said the marijuana growers reconfigured the home's electrical system to bypass the local utility meter, stealing roughly $4,000 a month in wattage.

“The way law enforcement usually identifies these places is through the inordinately high electricity usage,” Franchville said.

According to Pullen, in most of the growing facilities, carpets were torn out and holes were cut through floors, ceilings and doors to accommodate wiring. Closets and bathrooms served as storage areas for light ballasts, chemical supplies and fertilizer, she said. Windows and sliding glass doors were covered with drywall.

“These sophisticated growing operations pose an extreme hazard to our neighborhoods with their dangerous electrical wiring and changes made to the house infrastructure,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien. “In addition, any large narcotics operation invites violence, which further endangers families in these suburban communities.”

Most of the converted homes were purchased in newer housing developments for between $500,000 and $800,000, according to Pullen.

According to Pullen, Tuesday's arrests and seizures stemmed from a yearlong investigation that, to date, has led to the dismantling of 33 marijuana grow operations and the seizure of more than 19,000 plants.

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Richard Marino, 54, of Newcastle was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton for money laundering and narcotics conspiracy in connection with a medical marijuana operation.

He pleaded guilty May 6 to the charges arising from Capitol Compassionate Care, which had gross sales of $2.3 million between Feb. 3 and Aug. 31 in 2004.

Federal agents searched Marino’s home in Newcastle and the business on Sept. 3, 2005, and they seized 189 pounds of hashish, 1,175 pounds of processed marijuana, 617 live marijuana plans and more than $100,000 in cash.

Marino’s business operated for the nearly exclusive purpose of selling marijuana, according to assistant U.S. Attorneys William Wong and Matthew Segal, who prosecuted the case.

The case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Unit.

Business records showed Capitol Compassionate Care has sold some 482 pounds of marijuana, and that Marino used Compassionate Care proceeds to pay for a down payment for his home, a housekeeper, an apartment, loan payments, dinners and payments on credit cards.

Marino was also ordered to forfeit over $91,000 in cash as well as a house in Newcastle in a separate civil forfeiture case.

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Oakland House Fire Leads To Marijuana Bust

7-15-2008

OAKLAND (CBS 5 / BCN) ― A house fire in the 4400 block of Morage Avenue in Oakland on Tuesday morning led to the discovery of a marijuana-growing operation, according to police and fire officials. 

Oakland police spokesman Roland Holmgren said about 150 marijuana plants, as well as various cultivating paraphernalia, were found inside the house by Oakland firefighters.

"That's what caused the fire," Holmgren said. "Nine times out of 10 we stumble on these grows because of some sort of electrical fire."

The Oakland Fire Department got a call about a single-alarm fire at 8:04 a.m., and extinguished the fire at 8:31 a.m. Once inside the house, they found the plants and paraphernalia and alerted Oakland police.

A 35-year-old man who rented the home was among two men who were arrested, with one having to be treated for smoke inhalation, according to officers.

Holmgren said that the names of the suspects would not be released until the police investigation was completed.

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420HWY OPINION
Brought to you by www.420Lawyer.com 

Yet once again someone chooses to steal power to run their operation.  Collective grow operations are NOT illegal if done properly as outlined under the California Health and Safety Code §§11362.5, et seq.

This is just a shame to see this continue to go on like this.

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Again, this is looking like greed here people.  5,600 plants, why so many?

1,200 more at another location?  

Look, if you guys have the $500,000 to $800,000 to plop down on a house, then add the conversions and lights, then why not visit an attorney and do it properly?  There are correct ways to set up grow operations, what was done here, was the incorrect way.

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OK...if someone has this much product, this much cash and has not declared crap to the IRS or the State Board of Equalization, they are just asking for trouble.

Talk to a lawyer first

we recommend www.420Lawyer.com 

but at least talk to one first

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Doesn't mention if the renters are patients or not...that part always seems to escape the news media

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This owner was obviously not following all the rules.  Not following the rules is one certain way to get in big trouble. (We bold-faced the violations of which dispensary owners need to pay attention.)

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