BANGOR, Maine — A date has been set for the sentencings of the men convicted in connection with the Township 37 marijuana plantation, which investigators called the most sophisticated outdoor operation in Maine.
Malcolm French 53, of Enfield, Rodney Russell, 51, of South Thomaston and Kendall Chase, 58, of Bradford were found guilty on a variety of charges in connection with the pot farm on Jan. 24, 2014, following a 10-day jury trial.
They are scheduled to be sentenced along with Haynes Timberland Inc., the firm that owns the land where the farm was located, by U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock on Sept. 30 in federal court in Bangor.
The U.S. attorney’s office has recommended what the defendants’ sentencing guideline ranges should be but not a specific amount of time each should be incarcerated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Casey said in a June memorandum that French’s guideline range should be between 19 ½ years and 24 years. Russell’s guideline range should be between 15 ½ and 19 ½ years and Chase’s should be between just over 10 years and 12 years and seven months in prison, Casey said.
Defense attorneys for French and Chase have asked that Woodcock impose sentences under the guideline range but did not recommend a specific number of years. Russell’s attorney had not filed a sentencing memorandum as of Friday.
A joint recommendation submitted by Casey and the attorney for Haynes Timberland recommended a fine of $450,000 be imposed. The firm previously agreed to pay $1.55 million for Township 37, which the jury ordered be forfeited as a result of the convictions. The $1.55 million has been paid, according to court documents.
French, Chase and Russell have been held at the Piscataquis County Jail without bail since their convictions in January 2014. That time will be applied to their federal prison sentences.
Their co-defendant, Robert Berg, 52, of Corinna, pleaded guilty Jan. 7, 2014, shortly before the trio’s trial began to being an accessory after the fact to manufacturing 1,000 or more marijuana plants at a large marijuana farm in Township 37 in Washington County.
By pleading guilty, Berg admitted that he knew about the pot plantation and that police had raided it on Sept. 22, 2009, forcing workers to flee. The next day, a longtime friend asked Berg to pick up the undocumented workers in the woods in Washington County, according to the prosecution version of events to which he pleaded guilty.
In his plea agreement with prosecutors, Berg waived his right to appeal to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston if his sentence is longer than a year and a day. Inmates in federal prison are not able to earn good time if their sentences are less than a year.
In a separate case, Berg admitted on June 23, 2014, that his custom screen printing and embroidery company created fake logos for sports teams, a distillery, a tractor company and a motorcycle manufacturer.
Robert Berg Enterprises Inc., doing business as Berg Sportswear Inc., owned by Robert and Hedda Berg, both of Corinna, had been under investigation for trafficking in counterfeit goods, money laundering and tax evasion for more than three years, according to court documents.
Berg does not face prison time on the charge, but the corporation will be required to pay a fine. On behalf of the corporation, Berg agreed not to appeal the case to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston if the fine is $20,000 or less.
Sentencing memoranda have not been filed in either case.
Berg remains free on bail. His business continues to operate.
The maximum sentence on the drug charge is 15 years in prison and a $5 million fine.
The maximum fine for the charge of trafficking in counterfeit goods is $5 million, according to the U.S. attorney’s office, which prosecuted the case.