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Sunday, May 20, 2012
Feds want alleged pot profiteers
by Ed Murrieta, published on September 16, 2011 at 11:51 AM
Storyline: Medical Marijuana
A marijuana investigation that began in February with what local law enforcement calls an anonymous tip bloomed into a federal case when criminal charges against six Sacramento men were unsealed Thursday.
An affidavit signed by a Drug Enforcement Adminstration special agent charges that the owners of the former R&R Wellness and their associates "were involved in growing marijuana for the purpose of selling it at as great a profit as possible."
California's medical marijuana law mandates that dispensaries operate as nonprofit patient organizations. State criminal charges are pending againt the six men following their arrest in June when Elk Grove police busted a marijuana-growing operation that allegedly stole $80,000 of electric power from SMUD.
According to the federal affidavit dated Sept. 12 and unsealed Thursday, state criminal charges will be dropped once the U.S. Attorney's Office files its case, in which the defenants could face 40-year prison terms.
The Drug Enforcement Administration bases its case on local and state law enforcement case reports and interviews with arresting officers.
As the affidavit details, text messages, voice mail and photographs retrieved from the defendants' cellphones revealed a consipracy to profit from the growing and sale of marijuana, including text messages about cash deposits from marijuana profits.
"The text messages are crass about how much money each is making for the other," states the affidavit, signed by DEA Special Agent Miguel Zavala.
Zavala's affidavit supports a complaint charging Bryan Smith, Kelly Smith, Daniel Goldsmith, Bruce Goldsmith, Robert Klaus and Ryder Phillips with conspiracy to manufacture a controlled substance.
Bryan Smith, 27, and Kelly Smith, 54, were the owners of R&R Wellness. The younger Smith is described in the affidavit as sometimes paying rent on one of the busted grow houses. The elder Smith's fingerprints were allegedly found on an electric box panel used to divert electricity from the normal power meter at one grow house.
The other defendants are described in the affidavit as contract growers who were not employees of R&R Wellness.
An attorney defending one of the six men told Sacramento TV News10 he believes the federal complaint was aimed at sending a message to California's medical pot dispensaries that are pushing the boundaries of state law.
The affidavit is a peek into the investigation, which turned up "comical and incriminating" video on the home computer of Bryan Smith. The affidavit says several videoes Smith made of himself were found, including one 8-minute video that appeared to be an audition for MTV's True Life.
In the video, the affidavit states, Smith said he was happy that California's Prop. 19 marijuana legalization effort failed "because he was not ready to see prices plummet ... he wants to make as much money as possible..."
"Every day I'm in fear of being raided by the Feds," Smith reportedly says in the video.
Co-defendant Daniel Goldsmith's cellphone alone contained 982 text messages "laying out their partnership ih cultivating marijuana ... and selling it for profit." Goldsmith's cellphone also stored a stash of digital photos showing large amounts of cash, marijuana, steroids and equipment receipts.
Sacramento Patients Group now operates in R&R Wellness' former location.
Disclosure:
Ed Murrieta is the publisher of PotAppetit.com.
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So how does the city actually verify that a medical marijuana provider is a bona fide non-profit organization? Is that even part of the permitting process?
The affadvit made no claim that the Smith operation was in violation of any law pertaining to non-profit businesses, only alluding to the enormous sums of cash hidden in closets, etc.