BANGOR, Maine — A former Gray man pleaded not guilty Friday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana.
James A Sweeney, 27, who recently has lived in Arizona and California, according to court documents, was arrested June 4 in Texas. He appeared before a federal judge in Fort Worth before being brought to Maine by the U.S. Marshals Service.
The U.S. attorney’s office has asked that he be held without bail until his case is resolved. U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk scheduled a detention hearing for Thursday to determine whether Sweeney should be released on bail.
Sweeney came to the attention of law enforcement when a man, identified only by the initials C.S., was stopped on June 28, 2011, for a traffic violation on Interstate 44 in southwest Missouri, according to the affidavit filed in August in federal court.
Sweeney was indicted June 13, 2012, by a federal grand jury in Bangor on the charge to which he pleaded guilty Friday.
The Missouri traffic stop last year led to the arrest of Gerald Rich Jr., 47, of Frankfort, Maine, and Mark Wolosko, 46, of Kennebunkport after 375 pounds of marijuana was found in a 31-foot 2004 Coachman Freedom recreational vehicle owned by Rich. Sweeney is charged with being part of the conspiracy to transport hundreds of pounds of marijuana from Arizona to Maine.
Though Rich and Wolosko were charged with possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, the charges were dismissed a month after their arrests at the request of the U.S. attorney’s office.
The operation came to light last summer when C.S., the driver of the RV, allegedly told agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that Rich had flown June 10, 2011, from Portland, Maine, to Phoenix, Ariz. Rich gave C.S. $1,500 in cash to pay expenses on the return trip to Maine, according to the affidavit.
Rich and Wolosko allegedly met the RV on June 14, 2011, in a Biddeford parking lot. Rich drove off in the RV and Wolosko drove C.S. home, according to court documents. Later that day, Rich allegedly paid C.S. $9,000 for making the trip.
C.S. again flew to Phoenix on June 26, 2011, and was stopped two days later in Missouri on his way to Maine, according to the affidavit. After he agreed to cooperate, two DEA agents joined C.S. for the remainder of the trip.
The RV arrived in Maine about 10 p.m. June 29, 2011, the affidavit said. C.S. met Wolosko, who was accompanied by a white female driving a car with a vanity plate that read “Wolosko,” in a Biddeford parking lot. C.S. got in the car and left with the woman while Wolosko drove the RV to 468 Loggin Road in Frankfort, according to the affidavit.
Since those events, two cooperating defendants have told investigators that Sweeney and Rich pooled their funds to purchase marijuana in Arizona through a connection Sweeney had in that state, according to the affidavit filed last August in Sweeney’s case. Until his arrest last week, Sweeney’s file was sealed.
Rich and Wolosko could face charges again for their roles in the marijuana distribution scheme, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
If convicted, Sweeney faces a minimum of five years in federal prison and a maximum of 40 years and a fine of up to $2 million.
I’ve talked to police and their justification for ruining lives over cannabis is that it’s “illegal”. Police are not able to think beyond legality as far as right/wrong. Make a change by educating people on the truths of cannabis such as:
– The economic reasons cannabis is illegal.
– Its harm profile compared to legal drugs (tobacco, alcohol)
– The “gateway” theory that exists due to relegating cannabis to a black market.
Legalize!
Whoa, there, climb down from that high horse before you fall and hurt yourself. It’s not that they’re not able to think beyond legality, it’s that they don’t have that luxury. They’re police, not legislators, judges, or philosophers. Their job is to enforce the law, not to make it, not to judge its right/wrong status, not even necessarily to agree with it. You’d as well to be miffed at a mechanic because of problems you perceive in the design of your car.
Good metaphore. Working on a customer’s car one time, he asked me what is was and I told him. After he went south about it, I punched off the clock and took him outside (in the hope I wouldn’t get fired). “I did not design, build, drive or break your Mercedes! Ya want it fixed or not? Your problem with the product is at the top, not the one at the bottom doing his job! Write a letter!”
From then on, he always requested for only me to work on it. He understood.
But of course, some people can’t/won’t understand that basic precept.
try proof reading.
OK. In my second sentence, it should read “….what IT was…”. Apologies.
Buzlno,
Suggestion – Try a little Buzlyes every once in awhile and it may help in curbing your desire to put down people whom have an opinion you don’t agree with.
Here’s one on me bro ””
and I don’t care if Pitbull is looking out his window at us with binoculars again…
There is not one thing you wrote that can be made sense of. If you perceive a slap down on my part, then at least critique it with a coherent thought, huh?
lol Okay here’s a thought, lemme run this one by ya…
Join us tonight for the WWE Friday Night “SLAPDOWN!” Ohh yeah baby!…
Now I understand why you’ve only had one person agree to your twelve comments….
Ouch! That smackaroo really hurt….
If you’d like to seriously debate marijuana legalization though, I’d be more than willing to participate and see whom has the more agreeable comments.
This article is not about usage, it’s about the interstate trafficking of what is presently an illegal substance. Some how it devolved into the tangent of how cops hating to enforce the laws as they stand, whether they join the force ‘just to ruin people’s lives’ by performing a small part of the job, or the ludicrous assertion that high IQ applicants for the job are rejected for it.
FYI I have no problem with using the stuff. I’m a “child of the sixties” after all and just don’t like the way it affects me. But like any hated law, its up to us to work to repeal it through proper channels (prohibition). Just grumbling about it hasn’t worked.
PS I see you got a lightening fast ‘like’ on that comment. Is your other self in the same room with you?
I never said that the article was about usage. My proposal to you sir was –
” If you’d like to seriously debate marijuana legalization though, I’d be more than willing to participate and see whom has the more agreeable comments. ”
I have no problem with “the stuff ” either or with you for that matter, but what I do hold disdain for bullying. Your comments earlier in response to GimmieThatLoot seemed more like a personal attack on him than an intellectual response. That’s when I decided to join in this “debate”.
BTW, I can’t help it if more people like what I’ve got to say than you. Marijuana Legalization Nationwide is favored by the majority of United States voters. People whom make comments to articles that do not seem legalization friendly will obviously be less appreciated by most Americans.
Still off topic to the article…
Gimmedaloot’s second comment was so ludicrous that it deserved a dress down. Call me a bully if you want, but that would be a first for me in my 2+ years and 2200 comments on this site. Obnoxious? Ya, a couple of times.
Peace
Still off topic to my responses to your comments…
Obnoxious? I never said that. I’ve never promised to stay “On topic to the article” either. I was replying in direct response to you, not the article.
For the third time. I challenged you to an open debate on Nationwide Marijuana Legalization.
I said that you were the first to accuse me of bullying. I admitted to two charges of being obnoxious. I did not accuse you of saying you said it!
The guidelines 4 posting (above) sez to stay on topic. The topic was interstate trafficking, not legal usage.
I’m 4 legalization through the right channels, all of which I’ve already explained plainly!
Since you can’t comprehend my replies to you, I’m done.
Buzlno,
Nice try. I’ve been on the topic Sir. There would be no interstate marijuana trafficking if marijuana was legal, now would there?
I know you’d rather it be I wasn’t “on topic” , so that I would not be able to respond to your not so intelligent banter. Maybe then you’d get more likes, lol.
I’m still waiting for an intelligent, debate-able statement from you. Oh wait I forgot, you just can’t seem to understand the concept of a debate, or humor , or sarcasm for that matter either.
At least it appears most people here get it and appreciate what I’ve posted.
Thank you and “Keep smiling, Mon” :)
LOL! Since you are getting FAR more of your precious ‘likes’ than anyone else in just the last couple of hours, its sadly obvious that you have gathered up your posse. Pathetically transparent!
Its not an immature popularity competition, dood!
Awe, and I thought you said you were done? lol.
I’m probably getting more likes because of a few things…
One, I defended GimmeThaLoot after you talked down to him for expressing his pro-legalization views and how it relates to drug trafficking.
Two, I responded to you with a sense of humor and sarcasm.
Three, You have done nothing but name calling and each time you’ve been put in your place, and you still have not responded with some debatable topic. Most “likers” probably find that ironic Sir.
I just don’t get it, first you say to me:
“Now I understand why you’ve only had one person agree to your twelve comments…”
Now that people have shown us what they liked reading, you accuse me of gathering up a “possse” in the wee hours of the mourning in order to have them “like” my comments?
ROFLMAO! Are you for real? I would not disturb my friends in the middle of the night to “like” my comments. lol
Awe, you jealous? I thought you said you were done. Must have been hearing things…
Done yet?
Btw..If your not done, please do try to “stay on topic” Sir! Lmao
I ran across this about 5AM and watched cause it was kinda funny. Since you got involved in gimme and buz’s conversation, I will give my 2 cents worth too.
-gimme left 2 comments, one half legalization. The rest of that and all the second nothing but off the wall accusations and cop bashing. buzlno called him out on it.
– You snuck in with a reply to buz that made no sense. “humorous” you say. Then said he is a bully. You didn’t get off the pot topic but you didn’t stay on the bully topic.
– Most of your early comments received a like within 2minutes of it being posted. That is really odd on this site. You started out with 12 comments and 2 likes when I looked.
-You got called out as a newbie basically. In the next 90 minutes you had rocketed up to about 85. That just doesn’t happen on this site especially “in the middle of the nite”. Nope, not in that amount of time Now your profile goes straight to FB. curious.
-My take? I only comment once in a great while but this was a fun train wreck between a sometimes obnoxious grump and a fame seeking newbie trolling for early morning fun. :)
– Eyevabigun,
– I’m glad to know you thought it was kinda funny and enjoyed reading the comments tossed back and forth between Buzlno and myself.
– I disagree though with your interpretations of both the chronological order and context of our replies to each other.
– If you sort the messages by oldest to newest you will see that what GimmeThaLoot originally posted. Here it is below:
– GimmeThaLoot 1 day agoI’ve talked to police and their justification for ruining lives over cannabis is that it’s “illegal”. Police are not able to think beyond legality as far as right/wrong. Make a change by educating people on the truths of cannabis such as:
– The economic reasons cannabis is illegal.
– Its harm profile compared to legal drugs (tobacco, alcohol)
– The “gateway” theory that exists due to relegating cannabis to a black market.Legalize!
-Now Eyevabigun, you state:
-“-gimme left 2 comments, one half legalization. The rest of that and all the second nothing but off the wall accusations and cop bashing. ”
-How is GimmeThaLoot’s first comment one half legalization? The only mention of Legalization I see in that message is the very last word “Legalize!”.
-That doesn’t seem to amount to half of the post. There is no “rest of that” (nothing under the word “Legalize!) containing any sort of cop bashing or accusations. I don’t see any cop bashing or accusations in the top portion either. All I see is one reader’s opinion. Nothing upsetting to it in my opinion. (My father is a retired police sergeant btw)
– Then, you’ll see Ben Hutchins reply to GimmeThaLoot. Condescending and mean spirited if you ask me when Ben tells him:
– “Whoa, there, climb down from that high horse before you fall and hurt yourself.” Then Buzlno backs up Ben. That is when I started replying in defense of GimmeThaLoot.
-Now that one response I made to Buzlno. You know, the one you and him say doesnt make any sense. Well, it wasn’t mean’t to be a sensible comment. here it is below:
– Buzlno,
Suggestion – Try a little Buzlyes every once in awhile and it may help in curbing your desire to put down people whom have an opinion you don’t agree with.
Here’s one on me bro ””
and I don’t care if Pitbull is looking out his window at us with binoculars again… I’ll explain it a little. His handle “Buzlno” resembles “Buzzno” So when I said “Try a little Buzlyes every once in awhile ”
-It was a play on words witth his handle “Buzzyes”. When I said “and I don’t care if Pitbull is looking out his window at us with binoculars again…”, I was making a reference to Pitbull’s first comment:
-” i hav and will continue to report to police, all pot dealers AND USERS in my neighborhood ”
– Okay, so it wasn’t supposed to be sensible. It was sarcastic wit. Now although I never posted that it was this reply of mine specifically that is “humorous” (and if you and/or Buzlno still believe I specifically stated that this comment is humorous, please re-post exactly where I did state that, and by all means make me eat my own words, lol), judging by the amount of likes it received, I assume at least some people thought of it as humorous.
– I never flat out called anyone a bully either, what was actually stated by me was:
-“I have no problem with “the stuff ” either or with you for that matter, but what I do hold disdain for bullying.”
– Lastly when you say the stuff about the likes, I don’t know what I’m being accused of here. Do you think like Buzlno did? That I woke up dozens of friends in the early A.M. hours before even daylight to beg them to like my posts? If I did that, those friends or “posse” or whatever, would have hung up on me and not been my friends or “posse” any longer! lol I have no control over whom or how many people “like” what I wrote.
-When you said :”Now your profile goes straight to FB.” I’m not very computer savvy, but was is so dubious about that? You can log in with Facebook to post here and that’s what I did.
– Anyway. That about sums it up.
Hope this helps clarify things a little, but most importantly I’m happy that you think:
– ” this was a fun train wreck between a sometimes obnoxious grump and a fame seeking newbie trolling for early morning fun. :)”
– Glad you enjoyed it. So did I….:)
Since I rerely comment, and I don’t want to get drawn into a train wreck, a couple of things. Then I’m outta here. Any one thats been on this site for awhile knows that buzlno is a nickname from his work. “Ask buz, buz will know” or something like that. Often dour, but usually sensible.Regulars know each other and check out newbies.
Humorous? “responded to you with a sense of humor and sarcasm.” Disqus dashboard is showing you again so the world of BDN regulars can see you properly again. NO BODY’S likes jump that way on a day old story at 6AM Sat. I still say it was your FB friends checking your page at the same time you are, or something similar. We all have people like-dislike-don’t care about our many comments, so the comment to like ratio is a way to see a long time average with which to gauge if they’re ok or a jerk in others eyes. It takes awhile for regulars to build up. check out buzlno’s or my dashboard for what people think of our remarks. Done with my rambling train of thought. DONE.
This space has become to narrow. My response will be as new post.
Gimmie’s comments were off the wall….
Ben Hutchins,
Whoa, there climb down from that high horse before the police pull you over and give you that 3rd DUI when they discover you’ve been binge drinking again and your logic smells like horse manure.
There are many current and former police officers whom are against the prohibition of marijuana such as Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
I’m usually not miffed at my mechanic because his purpose is to fix my car. I don’t end up with a criminal record after our encounter. With the current illegality of marijuana, police officers are required to ruin the lives of otherwise productive citizens.
” There are many current and former police officers whom are against the
prohibition of marijuana such as Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.”
I don’t doubt that there are. (Personally, I don’t give a damn either way. It’s not my cup of tea, but I’ve got no beef with stoners. If anything, they seem closer to harmless than drunks are.) I’m just saying their personal take on the subject is irrelevant to the performance of their job. So long as MJ (or anything else) remains illegal, it’s still a cop’s job to enforce the laws against it.
Hold on there. Nobody forced police to go into their line of work. If they were truly conflicted about the laws they were enforcing, I’m sure they could find another job (with their spotless criminal record and all). It is legal hiring practice for police to reject candidates with high IQs due to the fact that smarter individuals tend to think for themselves.
Regardless, this is an article about marijuana, a substance prohibited for economic reasons and that remains illegal for the same reasons, as well as due to propaganda that police buy into.
“It is legal hiring practice for police to reject candidates with high IQs due to the fact that smarter individuals tend to think for themselves.”
WOW! I’d like some evidence for that absolutely ridiculous statement!
And if you think that cops consider this a high priority reason for choosing their career, then you have partaken too much of the product yourself! Just where does this and your other over the top ideas come from? Not from any real evidence whatsoever, that’s for sure.
Besides, this is a Federal case now with laws enacted by the National Congress. Ask your representatives to change the rules like an adult (if you have any idea how to).
i hav and will continue to report
to police, all pot dealers AND USERS
in my neighborhood
your the man
Pitbull,
If you don’t like marijuana, then don’t use it. Others will continue do whatever we feel is right for us with this plant, even now that we know you’ve been watching and snitching.
Suggestion – Find something better to do with your time because…
Marijuana Legalization Nationwide is an inevitable reality that is upon us much sooner than you think and there is no amount of snitching that can stop it from coming to fruition.
and besides that…
I wouldn’t want to be mistaken for you walking home from the pub late one evening. Must make you real popular in your neighborhood.
i always hav 1 of my 2 pits with me. my pits can
take a gunshot and they will keep charging some
one who has a beef. i hav had confrontations. won them too.
by the way, i notice the majority of druggies and criminals
in maine are irish. i’d rather hav minorities from 3rd
world countries in my neighborhood than irish
Rat.
Bigot.
Sissy.
i am half irish..must be that half
Being a rat, bigot, and sissy have nothing to do with nationality, it is a nosey cowards choice, my half brother…..
REPORT A DRUG CRIME ANONYMOUS
http://www.nationaltipster.com/blog/
Legalize Nationwide.
Hum…Pitbulls, hatred, prejudice, racism and and snitching. So I suppose a little live and let live is out of the question for you, huh? Sad
hav you not noticed ? there hav been alot of pot busts
in maine lately. maine has been invaded by an army
of drug agents like never before in the history
of the state
the pendulum of legalizing and decriminalizing POT
..is starting to go back the other way
:)
Cartel dirt weed….. make some rope.
I don’t mean to beat a dead horse but really, there is IQ discrimination on police work, and it is considered legal by the courts. The IQ of the average American is 103, and the average IQ of the police force is 104. Therefore, there are some police smarter than the average American, and -many- with IQs lower than.
These police lack the intelligence to do anything other than follow orders; It is true less intelligent people lack the ability to think critically about laws and procedures they are told to enforce. There’s no tin hat on my head either, this has been the case for over 10 years. Feel free to Google “Police IQ” and/or check out these links:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/story?id=95836
http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2012/01/04/iq-tests-for-police-officers/
Keep dreaming Pitbull. The latest Rasmussen poll shows %56 of voters (the majority) favor Nationwide Marijuana Legalization, and that percentage grows each day.
Nationwide Marijuana Legalization in an inevitable reality that is going to happen much sooner than you (and all prohibitionists) think and there is no amount of propaganda that can be spread to stop it.
I was hoping it would turn me into a black jazz musician, but i am still just a white Irishmen. I think our government *may* be lying to us….
1% of the united states population controls
the united states. they decide everything about
the united states. they decide what countries
the us goes to war with..they control the
money supply of the country. they control everything
when they want something or dont want something…
that is the way this country goes
the 1% do not want pot legalized…the pendulum is now
swinging back to to re-criminalizing pot
The latest Rasmussen poll shows %56 of voters (the majority) favor Nationwide Marijuana Legalization, and that percentage grows each day.
When asked for the names of his accomplices, Sweeny stated, “Some guys named Julian, Ricky and Bubbles.”
eyevabigun,
Even though you said our “trainwreck” was fun to read. I won’t go there with you, lol. I will re-clarify though what I thought I already explained to you.
1) I never, and I’ll say it agin so this time it may sink in, never said that one particular response I made was “humorous”. What was said was:
“I responded to you with a sense of humor and sarcasm.” (referring to Buzlno)
Nowhere does it say that that one particular response of mine (where, god forbid I had the “audacity” to dare poke fun at his handle, lol ) is the one and only one I was referring to.
In fact most adult readers can comprehend that when I said “I responded to you with a sense of humor and sarcasm”, I was in fact making a blanket statement referring to all my responses. Not just that particular one. Understand now? I hope so, you you stop bringing up the same false notion.
2) Now, I don’t understand why you and Buz are so distraught over the amount of likes I’ve received. Could it be that you’ve both have been sharing your opinions on here a much longer time than I, and have not received as many likes? To make accusations that somehow I was involved in what people decided to like only makes both of you seem just a little insecure and paranoid…
Btw, my comments here DO NOT go up on my Facebook page, since it is set to private, only me. Also I’ve configured Discuss so that it does not post to Facebook on my behalf.
So, can’t wait to laugh at the next “conspiracy theory” over my popularity.
Peace and Chicken Grease.