BANGOR, Maine — A key witness in a marijuana smuggling trial that sent a St. David man to federal prison for life was back before a federal judge Monday afternoon and in the Penobscot County Jail by sunset.
Adam M. Hafford, 42, of Dover-Foxcroft testified in July 2007 against Michael J. Pelletier, 56, of St. David in exchange for immunity against prosecution for being part of Pelletier’s marijuana conspiracy.
Hafford testified that in 2004, he ferried cash to Canada and returned with between 60 and 120 pounds of marijuana on his back by “swimming” the St. John River — first wearing a life jacket and later wearing a wetsuit and fins. Hafford, who had never learned to swim, also used a motorized underwater “scooter” to make the passage easier for himself.
He also admitted during Pelletier’s trial that he had lied to a federal grand jury in 2006 about just how much marijuana he had smuggled across the border. He admitted that instead of bringing up to 220 pounds of marijuana across the border at a time, he swam with only half that amount on his back.
Hafford was serving a 10-year sentence on a drug charge when he testified against Pelletier. His sentence was reduced to 4½ years in 2009 and he was released from federal prison on March 10, 2010. Hafford then began serving five years of federal supervised release.
On Aug. 28, 2012, Hafford’s U.S. probation officer filed a motion to revoke his supervised release after Hafford was convicted of theft of scrap metal in Dover-Foxcroft District Court this summer. He served four days in jail on that state charge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The probation officer also has alleged that Hafford failed at least four drugs tests in past 18 months, testing positive for cocaine and marijuana.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuck on Friday released Hafford on personal recognizance bail after he denied violating his supervised release. The judge ordered that Hafford live with his mother, Crystal Boone in Lincoln.
On Monday, U.S. Probation Officer Stacy Laflin drove to Lincoln to check on Hafford at his mother’s home. He wasn’t there.
Laflin then called Hafford on her cell phone and ordered him to be in her office by 2 p.m. Monday. She also filed a motion to revoke his bail set three days earlier. Hafford showed up 15 or 20 minutes later, she testified Monday.
Hafford, who took the stand during Monday’s 30-minute hearing, said his mother had told him and Laflin on Friday morning that he could stay with her in Lincoln. About 4 p.m. Friday, after the court hearing, Hafford testified that his mother called him to say that he was “not welcome” in her home because her husband was opposed to his living there.
Instead of calling Laflin’s office or her cell phone immediately, Hafford did not call his probation officer until about 6 a.m. Monday. He called the office and left a message but Laflin did not get it until she returned to her office from Lincoln.
Hafford said Monday that he had moved several times recently and could not find Laflin’s business card, which also contains her cell phone number. He said he had received calls from her cell phone on his cell phone but had not saved the number. Hafford said he did not call the office immediately after his mother called him Friday because he thought the office would be closed.
As an alternative to his mother’s home, Hafford suggested that he live with a mechanic who works at Brooks Tire and Auto Sales in Dexter, where Hafford is employed part-time. He said that is where he spent the weekend.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Moore objected to that suggestion because the man Hafford proposed to live with has been convicted three times for violating the conditions of his release on charges that grew out of a domestic dispute. Hafford’s co-worker also has been convicted of drunken driving.
The judge agreed with the federal prosecutor.
“Fool me once, shame on you, Mr. Hafford,” Kravchuk said Monday in revoking his bail. “Fool me twice, shame on me. I’m not releasing [you] to a person who’s violated his conditions of release and has an alcohol problem.”
A hearing on whether Hafford’s supervised release is to be revoked is expected to be scheduled in about a month, Moore said after Monday’s hearing.
If U.S. District Judge John Woodcock, who sentenced Hafford to prison, finds that he violated his supervised release, Hafford could be sent back to federal prison for up to two years, according to court documents.
Pelletier — the man Hafford testified against, who is paralyzed from the waist down due to an injury on the family farm when he was a child — is serving a life sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., according the prisoner locator maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
Don’t worry: Justice Woodcock will go lightly on him. He always does.
On the contrary Judge Woodcock is the same who sentenced Pelletier to life in prison for a marijuana offense. Hardly lenient in my eyes to give the same sentence as a murderer to a guy selling plants less dangerous than advil.
Thank you for saying that before I did. I tire of repeating myself to dullards.
Beat me to it as well. John is one of the best judges on the bench.
Yeah, if you support sending crippled men to prison for life for selling harmless plants. Brilliant. You never cease to amaze me.
Some people are born with that “break the law” streak on their backs, probably due to bad upbringing or mixing with the wrong friends. Let Woodcock decide if this guy deserves a light sentence or something more. POT leads to other things. That’s why the Justice makes a big deal out of it. Kids start out on POT, then the next thing you know they’re on hard drugs!
Why thank you for your brilliant insight into the stepping stone theory. Here’s mine:
I drink water mostly, rarely soda. I guess pretty soon I’ll be drinking Whiskey by the bottle.
Sometimes (I try to avoid it) I take Tylenol for pain. It helps. But sometimes it isn’t enough. Guess I’ll have to go rail some Oxy.
Once in awhile when I am really stuffed up I take a Sudafed. Maybe from now on I should smoke some Meth, instead. Makes sense.
When I am a bit tired in the morning, I drink coffee. Though, honestly it doesn’t give me the pep I need all the time. I think I’ll try some Cocaine on those off days.
I liked to eat some foods that are a bit fatty. Though after awhile, for some strange reason I now only eat McDonalds.
I use to eat steak, but now I eat the whole cow.
Do you get the point, yet, Mr. Thegreat?
Could you do it again? Please?
You’re sounding like the devil alright! Don’t show up drunk in front of Justice Woodcock. He’ll throw the key away, especially after you’ve told him all about your bad habits and intentions.
And you sound, and clearly are, completely brilliant. Good for you! I dont think you have any idea about my habits and intentions. It seems you missed the point entirely.
I never understood throwing away the key. What will happen with all the people who die behind locked doors? Do we just eventually close the place down and build another one? At that point, why even bother with the key? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to simply build one use doors? Of course, I would at this point in your theory, argue that the prison system would be redundant. If we simply locked up everyone for ever (and therefore defeating the purpose of the whole judicial system), we’d be better off simply executing them. Think of all the tax payer dollars which would be saved, not to mention we’d see a serious reduction in the need for a complex judicial and penal system.
And I suppose there we have it. Thank you again, Mr. Thegreat.
I can do this forever, really, I can. I never grow tired of these kind of encounters. Please, write something else so I might be afford a chance to further indulge myself.
Kids start out on milk, then juice, then coolade, then soda, then sugary treats, then energy drinks, then coffee, then cigarettes, then alcohol, then pot…
H0w do we know that maybe it was the milk that led them to harder drugs?
hahaha. yep.
Your post was slightly confusing, although I know what it is you are expressing. So, here’s a short excerpt from an article which conveys your exact thoughts in a different manor.
“The basis for the stepping stone theory is the common finding that hard
drug users have usually started with substances such as tobacco and
alcohol. However, the vast majority of smokers or alcohol consumers fail
to progress on to hard drugs. It could be argued that milk or chocolate
are stepping stones toward hard drug use because most drug users first
consumed milk and chocolate. However, neither milk nor chocolate cause
people to become hard drug users.”
Live with his mother? A 42 year-old man? Released on personal recognizance? It’s clear that the judge got into the stash!
The living with Mommy part really cracks me up!!!
If he sank it would have been a man made Reefa.
It may be time to introduce some crocodiles into the waterways between the countries so it wont happen again.
The article says
Hafford was serving a 10-year sentence on a drug charge when he testified against Pelletier…which isn’t true…he was serving a 10 term for federal firearms violations…which involved his shooting 2 moose illegally….the 10 year sentence probably reflected his repeated violation’s of the law .
I wonder what the penalty would be for shooting two deer illegaly!
Some people need coddled from crib to grave, this guy is one of them..
Damn……that is a harsh sentence…….life in federal prison…….you would think he committed first degree murder……..hell i don’t even smoke weed…. and i think it should be legalized!
drugs take from all who do them and the innocent family around them this is don i was sober 10 yrs thru aa was the best my life had ever been im on my way back there to aa… i went thru a trial my ex wife was murdered because of opiate addiction the man murdered her was doing oxys my brother went to jail crazy he was doing pills and coke wow my last 6 years of tradgety because of drugs my mom taught me how to smoke when i was 10 my step dad viet nam era drugs alcohol was part of life well all drugs and alcohol have done to me and my family is take the GOOD AND BEAUTY IN LIFE AWAY if anyone outthere reads this in drug addicted pain there r meetings na aa it works when u have had enough
giving someone life for pot is stupid . they just use up are resores and we pay for them. give him ten years hard time where he has to clean the side of the road everyday are make him clean tolets or something like that. but life it is way to much . beside pot should be legal i drink a beer and do more damage to my body .