Police In 3 States Split $9M From Pot Ring Bust
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — More than 30 law enforcement agencies in New York, Illinois and California are splitting nearly $9 million in assets seized when authorities busted a cross-country marijuana ring involving buried gold and a former world mountain biking champion.
Federal attorneys in Albany say 33 agencies have received more than $8.9 million of the $12.5 million in assets seized when the pot ring was taken down by authorities in 2009. The rest of the assets went to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Eric Canori ran the operation from his home in Wilton, New York, where authorities seized nearly $1.5 million in cash. Officials later found $2 million in gold bars and coins Canori had buried at a nearby property.
Former mountain biking champ Melissa Giove (gee-OH'-vee) was one of five people convicted after the drug bust.
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