Pubdate: Tue, 17 Jan 2012
Source: Modesto Bee, The (CA)
Copyright: 2012 The Modesto Bee
Contact:  http://www.modbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/271
Author: Erin Tracy

STANISLAUS COUNTY DRUG AGENCY NETS $150,000 FROM POT DISPENSARY BUST

A portion of assets seized from an illegal medical marijuana 
dispensary in Modesto was awarded to the Stanislaus County Drug 
Enforcement Agency on Tuesday.

The California Healthcare Collective, which was located on McHenry 
Avenue, was raided by federal DEA agents and local law enforcement in 
September 2006 along with seven homes associated with the 
dispensary's two directors.

The raid culminated a 15-month investigation in which undercover 
officers purchased marijuana nine times from the dispensary with 
fraudulent doctor's recommendations. BA Potsuit 2 Modesto Bee - Luke 
Scarmazzo CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS

Agents seized 10 firearms, more than $200,000 in cash, 100 pounds of 
processed marijuana, 1,000 marijuana plants and 34 pounds of baked 
goods laced with the drug.

Between the cash found the day of the raid, proceeds from the 
business and property that belonged to the owners, including a 
Mercedes-Benz, $322,313 in assets was seized.

Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner awarded the county drug 
enforcement agency $154,875 to be used for equipment, training and 
other things related to its operations.

"Forfeiting the proceeds of criminal activity, including the 
commercial sale of marijuana, is an effective way to disrupt and 
deter such activity," Wagner said at the Modesto Police Department 
during a news conference.

Anthony D. Williams, special agent in charge, said, "The DEA looks 
forward to continuing strong partnerships with our counterparts in 
Stanislaus County."

The Stanislaus County DEA is a task force with agents from the 
Sheriff's Department and police departments in Modesto, Turlock, 
Ceres, Oakdale, Waterford, Newman and Hughson.

Modesto Police Chief Mike Harden said the California Healthcare 
Collective was "nothing more than a criminal enterprise distributing 
large amounts of marijuana under the guise of medicinal use."

"The arrest, prosecution and asset forfeiture of proceeds from the 
(collective) should send a strong and unified message that law 
enforcement in Modesto and Stanislaus County will not allow such 
operations to continue," he said.

Just over a $250,000 was seized, but evidence presented at trial 
established that the dispensary, which had been in business for two 
years and operated as a nonprofit, generated $9 million in sales.

The California Healthcare Collective's two directors are serving 
lengthy sentences for a 2008 conviction for operating a continuing 
criminal enterprise.

Luke Scarmazzo and Ricardo Montes were sentenced to 21 and 20 years 
in prison, respectively. The men appealed the convictions, but the 
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco upheld 
the decision in January 2011.

A month after the raid, the Modesto City Council voted to close a 
loophole in a law that allowed not-for-profit dispensaries.

While medical marijuana dispensaries and landlords of dispensaries 
throughout the state have been targeted in recent months, Wagner said 
the U.S. attorney's office is focusing efforts on large-scale outdoor 
marijuana operations on agriculture land in the Central Valley.
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