Newcastle man sentenced for medical marijuana operation
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.
http://www.bizjournals.com
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