Pubdate: Wed, 07 Jul 2010 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2010 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Kim Bolan, Vancouver Sun CANADIAN POT SMUGGLERS MAKE PLEA BARGAIN IN U.S. COURT A former Telus marketing director and three Vancouver associates who snowshoed across the border with pot-filled backpacks have struck plea bargains with U.S. authorities. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman accepted a guilty plea from marketing whiz Chris Neary in a Seattle courtroom Tuesday. Neary admitted that he conspired to distribute less than 50 kilograms of marijuana in Washington state in April -a lesser quantity of B.C. bud than was laid out in the original charge against him. A sentencing hearing will be held on Sept. 24 at 2:30 p.m., U.S. court documents state. And three others who trekked though Snoqualmie National Forest, near Glacier, Washington, with Neary last April 26 have also pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of conspiring to distribute under 50 kilograms of pot. Their sentencing dates are not yet fixed. The lesser count carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail, a fine of up to $250,000 and two years of supervised release. Also pleading guilty is Daryl Fontana, a Duncan businessman who claimed he was short on cash when he was arrested with Neary. Both told U.S. agents they were to be paid $10,000 each for their efforts. Two other Vancouver men involved in the plot, Carl Theissen and Sinisa Gavric, have also signed plea agreements with the U.S. Attorney on the same drug count. Theissen's plea deal includes an additional count of money laundering. A fifth man, Richard Bafaro, also of Vancouver, is still scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 4, according to court documents. The plea bargains signed by Neary and the others do not contain a specific agreed-to prison term. But the U.S. Attorney says Neary played a "minor role" in the conspiracy and is recommending he get less than the maximum sentence because the "defendant has assisted the United States by timely notifying the authorities of his intention to plead guilty, thereby permitting the United States to avoid preparing for trial." "The defendant understands, however, that at the time of sentencing, the court is free to reject these stipulated adjustments, and is further free to apply additional downward or upward adjustments in determining defendant's sentencing guidelines range," the agreement says. The agreed statement of facts says that U.S. Immigration and Customs agents were "conducting surveillance in the area of Mount Baker and the Snoqualmie National Forest, near Glacier, Washington, where agents observed snowshoe tracks that crossed the international border." "This is an area known to federal agents as a route used by individuals smuggling contraband and illegal aliens between Canada and the United States." Neary admits he and Fontana were "hiding in the woods," the documents say. "Agents also found four sets of snowshoes and four backpacks containing a total of 49.28 kilograms of marijuana," the plea agreements say. It also said Neary admitted that another person had driven them to the border. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D