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Two Modesto men found guilty in medical marijuana case Verdict comes with 20-year minimum prison sentence
FRESNO -- A federal jury found two Modesto men guilty Thursday of drug charges for operating a medical marijuana dispensary, which raked in $6 million to $9 million in less than two years.
Luke Scarmazzo and Ricardo Ruiz Montes, both 27, immediately were taken into custody.
Both men were convicted of manufacturing marijuana and distributing the drug, as well as operating a continuing criminal enterprise, a felony that carries a mandatory 20-year minimum prison term, with the possibility of life behind bars.
Jurors cleared each man on weapons charges but deadlocked on a conspir-acy charge. U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger scheduled a May 27 hearing, when the government will decide whether to retry the men on the conspiracy charge.
Anthony Capozzi, who represented Scarmazzo, said after the verdict that it was "an unfair prosecution," in which the federal government piled on criminal charges against two people who never intended to break the law.
"It's an injustice for these people to go away for 20 years," he said.
But U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott said Montes and Scarmazzo's business had nothing to do with the medical use of marijuana.
"They were operating as drug dealers, plain and simple," he said in a telephone interview after the verdict.
Modesto Police Chief Roy Wasden supported the jury's decision.
"I think it's a correct verdict," he said. "The jury validated this was a criminal enterprise."
In September 2006, federal authorities raided the California Healthcare Collective in Modesto after a long investigation that included undercover drug buys.
Scarmazzo and Montes said they never intended to break the law. The business, their attorneys said, was "aboveboard," obtaining a business license, paying taxes and making sure patients had doctors' notes before purchases.
"Everything the defendants did was legal under state law," Capozzi said after the verdict. But neither he nor Robert Forkner, who represented Montes, were able to use state law as a defense because under federal law, marijuana is illegal.
Prosecutors said federal law not only trumped state law, but the two men also violated state law because their business wasn't a nonprofit enterprise.
Defense attorneys offered evidence that the business was at one point transformed into a nonprofit, but prosecutors said Scarmazzo and Montes spent collective money for nonbusiness items, in addition to their salaries.
Among the items the two men bought were jet skis and a $180,000 Mercedes-Benz.
A key part of the trial was a hip-hop video that featured Scarmazzo uttering the line "Fuck the feds."
Scarmazzo, a musician and aspiring hip-hop artist, took the stand to explain, saying it was his way of showing that the federal government "is turning a blind eye" to medical marijuana, which he said could help people.
The video was perhaps the most sensational part of the trial, and there were suggestions from Capozzi that Scarmazzo was on trial only because he dared to challenge the federal government's authority.
Jurors deliberated for two days before delivering their verdict.
One juror, Craig Will of Tuolumne County, said after the verdict that he expected the two men to get probation or a few months in prison.
"I'm really appalled to discover that there's a 20-year mandatory minimum on the continuing criminal enterprise charge," he said.
Capozzi said he plans to seek a new trial and will appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals because he said he believes there was insufficient evidence to merit the continuing criminal enterprise verdict.
I think if you are going to run a medical marijuana dispensary it would
be important to be 'low-key' to stay out of the Feds crosshairs.
The video is definitely not 'low key', but it does kick ass.
Hope they do better on appeal.
Haha never thought i would see my own town on the shroomery headlines. It is funny because the club they ran was right next door to my car insurance place, i would drive by all the time. There was litterally people going in and out of there all day long. Easily 50-70 people in and out of the door in an hour, all day long. You could stand out in the parking lot and smell the dank.... Their case is probably one of the only ones i think where they deserve it, they make the medicinal marijuana community look bad...
Yeah if the Enterprise charged got dropped and they dealt less than 999kg of marijuana, which I assume they did. Then they are only going to serve the five minimum. Five years its bad but TWENTY. That's horrible to do that those kind of people.
Quote: openmind said: Their case is probably one of the only ones i think where they deserve it, they make the medicinal marijuana community look bad...
Who gives a fuck - they deserve it? - that's a stretch! What they are saying is they are providing a state legal services, making a profit just like any other business why are we FUCKING WITH THEM? Point well made.
Taunting the federal government could not help the case, but oh well at least they are making a correct statement and going down by making noise instead of being all hush. I am sure that video has enlightened at least one person to take sides on the issue and as people continue to be enlightened that the war on drugs is bottomless money pit that HURTS people.
We need to quit spending money to HURT people and spend money to HELP people. But somehow we have this functional rational in the USA, by HURTING PEOPLE we can HELP THEM. Just like how we go to Iraq and kill people to show people that killing is wrong. Maybe someone can explain that.
Quote: openmind said: Their case is probably one of the only ones i think where they deserve it, they make the medicinal marijuana community look bad...
Who gives a fuck - they deserve it? - that's a stretch! What they are saying is they are providing a state legal services, making a profit just like any other business why are we FUCKING WITH THEM? Point well made.
Taunting the federal government could not help the case, but oh well at least they are making a correct statement and going down by making noise instead of being all hush. I am sure that video has enlightened at least one person to take sides on the issue and as people continue to be enlightened that the war on drugs is bottomless money pit that HURTS people.
We need to quit spending money to HURT people and spend money to HELP people. But somehow we have this functional rational in the USA, by HURTING PEOPLE we can HELP THEM. Just like how we go to Iraq and kill people to show people that killing is wrong. Maybe someone can explain that.
Anyways end of rant I'll go smoke one.
There was a lot more that happened that was not said in that article, this case has been a big local thing for a couple years in my town now. A lot of the bud they sold was not grown by medicinal caregivers or the people that should be, it was from illegal grow opps. They were selling to people without cards...If they ran a business legitamitely and weren't stupid about it they would still be in business today, well they probably would of been raided anyway adventually...And there were some things that the cops did that was shady....
Im not saying the feds and cops were in the right, or them, but their dumb asses didn't help any....
Sentencing postponed for Modesto men in medical marijuana case Scarmazzo, Montes are on hunger strike
FRESNO - Today's scheduled sentencing for two Modesto men convicted on federal drug charges for operating a medical marijuana dispensary was postponed until Friday because one of the defense attorneys is finishing up another trial.
Luke Scarmazzo and Ricardo Ruiz Montes, both 28, were convicted in May of manufacturing marijuana and distributing the drug, as well as operating a continuing criminal enterprise. The two men operated a medical marijuana dispensary known as the California Healthcare Collective that was raided by law enforcement officials in September 2006.
Their sentencing was scheduled for 2 p.m. this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Fresno. But Fresno attorney Anthony Capozzi, who is representing Scarmazzo, is delivering closing arguments in another trial in Fresno County Superior Court and asked for the postponement.
The sentencing for the two men has been delayed multiple times for various reasons.
Scarmazzo and Montes each face a mandatory 20-year minimum prison term as a result of the continuing criminal enterprise conviction. There is also the possibility of life behind bars.
Both men are being held in the Fresno County Jail, where they have been on a hunger strike for the past week"“to protest our excessively harsh sentence, the injustice of our confinement as political prisoners, and the conditions in which we are being held," according to a letter from both men provided to The Bee by DeVina Scarmazzo, who is Luke Scarmazzo's wife.
DeVina Scarmazzo said in an interview Monday that the hunger strike will continue until the sentencing.
22-year prison term for Modesto marijuana seller November 21, 2008 - Modesto Bee
FRESNO -- An aspiring hip-hop artist and his business partner in a lucrative Modesto medical-marijuana operation were given lengthy prison terms Friday for violating federal drug laws.
Luke Scarmazzo was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger to 21 years and eight months in prison, and Ricardo Ruiz Montes was given 20 years.
But as long as the sentences were for the two 28-year-old men, they could have been longer if Wanger had acceded to the wishes of federal prosecutors, who wanted 30 years for Scarmazzo and more than 24 years for Montes.
The case drew attention because of a controversial rap video titled "Business Man" that features a sneering, preening Scarmazzo who raises both middle fingers to the camera and says "(expletive) the feds."
Defense attorneys said the federal government went after Scarmazzo and Montes because the music video challenged law enforcement's authority.
The video was played multiple times during the trial for both men, but prosecutor Kathleen Servatius -- who participated in Friday's hearing via telephone -- said "we do not prosecute people because they sing songs; we prosecute people because they violate federal law."
The case was closely watched because of the clash between state and federal marijuana laws.
To federal authorities, it was simple. Though California voters legalized the medical use of marijuana in 1996 under Proposition 215, federal law trumps state law and federal law views the drug -- even when used for medical purposes -- as illegal.
After the May 15 jury verdict, U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said both men "were operating as drug dealers, plain and simple."
But Friday, Scarmazzo cast himself and Montes as crusaders who went to trial rather than cut a plea deal with authorities because they are fighting for the rights of medical-marijuana users.
Referring to himself and Montes as "political prisoners," he read a long statement to Wanger that touched on the nation's separation of powers and mandatory minimum sentences. He said both men have been on a hunger strike at the Fresno County Jail to protest their prison sentences and the "injustice of (their) confinement."
In an interview after the hearing, Scarmazzo's mother, June, said: "Luke is not a criminal. He is a political prisoner."
Modesto attorney Robert Forkner, who represented Montes, also expressed frustration in an interview.
"This is a sad day for all California voters and citizens who approved Proposition 215 by an overwhelming majority," he said. "Mr. Scarmazzo and Mr. Montes do not deserve 20 years in prison for operating a legally licensed business."
In September 2006, authorities raided the McHenry Avenue medical-marijuana dispensary, known as the California Healthcare Collective. During the trial, Servatius and co-prosecutor Elana Landau said the business raked in $6 million to $9 million in less than two years of operation.
While Montes maintained a fairly low profile -- which Wanger acknowledged Friday -- Scarmazzo was the opposite. He purchased Louis Vuitton handbags, Las Vegas hotel rooms and a $180,000 Mercedes-Benz.
Still, both men maintained the business was a nonprofit venture, and Scarmazzo told prosecutors Friday that nonprofits still pay salaries to their top executives.
But federal authorities pointed out that for most of the time that the dispensary operated, it was a for-profit corporation, and even under California law, it is illegal to operate a cannabis club at a profit.
Both men faced 20-year mandatory minimum sentences after a federal court jury convicted them of operating a continuing criminal enterprise.
Defense attorney Anthony Capozzi, who represented Scarmazzo, said he will appeal that conviction to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals because he said there was insufficient evidence to merit the continuing criminal enterprise verdict.
Should that charge be over turned, Scarmazzo would face about 12 years in prison, and Montes 10, based on guilty verdicts for other drug charges associated with the medical-marijuana business.
With time credits, Scarmazzo could be released in 18½ years and Montes in about 17 years.
Sometimes I am tempted to call the DEA and ask them to cut it out.
It would be great to get ahold of their internal phone book, that way whenever an agent makes a bust that hits the news I can call him up and give him my honest opinion regarding the value of his work.
If sure if one were inclined and determined enough, that task could be accomplished. It would probably take quite some time and skill to social engineer your way up that high though.
-------------------- Manoa said: I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin.
No new trial for Modesto pot vendors January 4, 2011 - modbee.com
A federal court has denied the request for a new trial by two Modesto men convicted on federal drug charges for operating a medical marijuana dispensary.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco has affirmed the convictions and sentences of Ricardo Montes, 29, and Luke Scarmazzo, 29, the U.S. attorney's office for California's Eastern District said Tuesday in a news release.
Scarmazzo and Montes had appealed because they claimed the trial judge made a mistake by not granting them a new trial after a juror read and discussed during deliberations a summary of a newspaper article on the marijuana policies of presidential hopefuls.
The Court of Appeals agreed with the District Court in Fresno in finding that the jurors' consideration of such information could not have affected their verdict.
A federal jury in Fresno found the two men guilty in May 2008 of manufacturing marijuana and distributing the drug, as well as operating a continuing criminal enterprise.
In November 2008, U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger sentenced Scarmazzo to 21 years and 10 months in prison and Montes to the 20-year mandatory minimum prison sentence.
The evidence at trial showed that from 2004 until September 2006, the two men openly ran the California Healthcare Collective, a marijuana dispensary they cofounded in Modesto.
During those two years they made $9.2 million in sales, with up to 14 employees who cultivated, packaged and distributed marijuana, according to the news release.
Medical marijuana is legal in California, but federal laws outlaw its possession and distribution, even if the activities are allowed under state law.
And it's funny reading my original post in this thread, interesting how my opinion of this case has changed over the few years....20+ year sentence, ouch
And it's funny reading my original post in this thread, interesting how my opinion of this case has changed over the few years....20+ year sentence, ouch
Good to see that you finally came around. : )
If these guys deserve 20 years, beer sellers deserve 40 and tobacco sellers deserve life.
I am not surprised their appeal didn't work, once you are convicted it usually sticks. Those appeals trials are BS and often they fail even when the person is innocent.
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FRESNO -- A federal jury found two Modesto men guilty Thursday of drug charges for operating a medical marijuana dispensary, which raked in $6 million to $9 million in less than two years.
