STANISLAUS COUNTY DRUG AGENCY NETS $150,000 FROM POT DISPENSARY BUST

A portion of assets seized from an illegal medical marijuana
dispensary in Modesto was awarded to the Stanislaus County Drug
Enforcement Agency on Tuesday.

The California Healthcare Collective, which was located on McHenry
Avenue, was raided by federal DEA agents and local law enforcement in
September 2006 along with seven homes associated with the
dispensary's two directors.

The raid culminated a 15-month investigation in which undercover
officers purchased marijuana nine times from the dispensary with
fraudulent doctor's recommendations. BA Potsuit 2 Modesto Bee - Luke
Scarmazzo CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS

Agents seized 10 firearms, more than $200,000 in cash, 100 pounds of
processed marijuana, 1,000 marijuana plants and 34 pounds of baked
goods laced with the drug.

Between the cash found the day of the raid, proceeds from the
business and property that belonged to the owners, including a
Mercedes-Benz, $322,313 in assets was seized.

Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner awarded the county drug
enforcement agency $154,875 to be used for equipment, training and
other things related to its operations.

"Forfeiting the proceeds of criminal activity, including the
commercial sale of marijuana, is an effective way to disrupt and
deter such activity," Wagner said at the Modesto Police Department
during a news conference.

Anthony D. Williams, special agent in charge, said, "The DEA looks
forward to continuing strong partnerships with our counterparts in
Stanislaus County."

The Stanislaus County DEA is a task force with agents from the
Sheriff's Department and police departments in Modesto, Turlock,
Ceres, Oakdale, Waterford, Newman and Hughson.

Modesto Police Chief Mike Harden said the California Healthcare
Collective was "nothing more than a criminal enterprise distributing
large amounts of marijuana under the guise of medicinal use."

"The arrest, prosecution and asset forfeiture of proceeds from the
(collective) should send a strong and unified message that law
enforcement in Modesto and Stanislaus County will not allow such
operations to continue," he said.

Just over a $250,000 was seized, but evidence presented at trial
established that the dispensary, which had been in business for two
years and operated as a nonprofit, generated $9 million in sales.

The California Healthcare Collective's two directors are serving
lengthy sentences for a 2008 conviction for operating a continuing
criminal enterprise.

Luke Scarmazzo and Ricardo Montes were sentenced to 21 and 20 years
in prison, respectively. The men appealed the convictions, but the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco upheld
the decision in January 2011.

A month after the raid, the Modesto City Council voted to close a
loophole in a law that allowed not-for-profit dispensaries.

While medical marijuana dispensaries and landlords of dispensaries
throughout the state have been targeted in recent months, Wagner said
the U.S. attorney's office is focusing efforts on large-scale outdoor
marijuana operations on agriculture land in the Central Valley.