Boston Firefighter Resigns After Drug Raid

[Ms. RedEye]

Massachusetts - A Boston firefighter whose Maine home was raided by federal drug agents has resigned.

Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said Saturday that Sean Berte resigned from his position as a Boston firefighter, which he has had since August 2001.

Authorities say federal drug agents raided Berte's Bridgton, Maine home Friday and allegedly seized 131 marijuana plants and cultivating equipment, worth an estimated $700,000.

Berte's father-in-law, 60-year-old Michael Domenici, was charged with cultivating marijuana.

MacDonald said Berte was working his shift in the firehouse at the time.

Maine authorities say Berte is a person of interest in the raid.

Berte could not immediately be reached for comment.


News Hawk: MsRedEye: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 2009 Associated Press
Contact: Contact Us | The Associated Press
Website: The Associated Press | The essential global news network

 

[Caber1]

This is what makes the whole war on drugs deal so sad.
You take a guy who works and pays his taxes, supports the community and is just a regular guy and not only turn him into a criminal, but take away his job.

Now you tell me how this helps the country? Where are all the people he has supposedly harmed.
Our countries are dieing the death of a thousand cuts.

 

[speshuldusty]

131 plants is a little more than a good guy's growing. This was a drug dealer who got greedy for money. He didn't pay his taxes on that extreme profit, and therefore I can't really say he didn't deserve it.

Now, if he donate dmoney like crazy and had a case for his crime scene I would be more supportive, but people in the higher ranks of marijuana tend to lose site of the communion and togetherness the drug causes. I think the breaking point is when people start doing it to fulfill a hunger rather than to utilize an altered perspective.

So you can't really feel bad for this guy... I mean, his operation was probably burning up with IR and he deserved to get caught. Although I can't say I dislike his farming because its better grown here than another country where our dollars flow out of the economy, he was definitely in the wrong for basically being a drug lord.

 

[Caber1]

I see. How many plants does it take to lose your good guy status?
The fact that you label him a drug dealer makes me think that you misunderstand what growing pot is all about.
Whether you grow one or one million it is only a plant and it shouldn't make you a criminal just by growing.
Just because some one doesn't like pot shouldn't mean that it should be illegal.

I don't want to get into his taxes because that is a personal matter between him and the government.
What is IR?
Drug lord? My friend you've been watching too many cop shows on TV.
Again, he was growing pot and that is right. Then he got busted and that ain't right.

 

[Hippiemomma54]

131 plants isn't that many plants to make him a drug lord. A drug lords dream is a big field of plants. I doubt he was making that much money if he was selling it. Did it interfere with his job? Was he going to his job high? Those are the right questions and I hope he wasn't.
With info on here as to how to grow them ...I imagine alot of people have lots of plants.

 

[speshuldusty]

I spread the seeds for everyone. I don't ever sell weed, I just give it away if I have it. It isn't worth money, and someone growing 131 plants is in it for money because of that outrageous elec bill.

Not to mention, it competed with other plants before we discovered it, so why not let it grow free and sow the seeds of what you smoke. The only reason specialty weeds are so popular is because too many people over indulge and need new tastes. Every plant gets around the same THC levels from curing, and a small dose is all that is beneficial.

With a small amount of THC inhibiting your inhibitors, you can still utilize the pathways of your sober self. Yeah, it doesn't "feel" as good as the large amounts that hedonism begets, but it is more purposeful. I don't think one should ever reduce your inhibitions so much that you recieve reward without warrant, because then what's the point of doing stuff that is supposed to use those rewards to encourage you to do more?

I mean, we kinda already have mentality towards this stuff. Cops only give out misdemeanors for operations under 10 plants around my parts. I think that's quite fair for the dumb ones who get caught.

 

[speshuldusty]

IR is infrared.

And I say drug lord because he sells it. Everyone seems to become this cool guy dealer and lose hold of the communal mindset and helpfulness that moderate marijuana use seems to evoke from within our psyche.

 

[Jim Finnel]

I spread the seeds for everyone. I don't ever sell weed, I just give it away if I have it.....

i respect your idealisim. i'm an idealist myself. i still cling to the ideals i grew up with in the 60's. free the weed!

 

[Retro Man]

He didn't pay his taxes on that extreme profit, and therefore I can't really say he didn't deserve it.

Deserve it?

Are you sure you're on the right forum?

 

[Propa Gator]

Tempting money to grow because of artificial prohibition created market. Moonshiners did similar(kinda) with a popular but possibly deadly substance. Pot never killed or even permanantly harmed anyone, has it? Sure you got some stupid stoners, but I've witnessed profoundly stupid public officials being sober, loud and totally misinformed. Who's worse?

 

[tonystarks]

Taxes? Jail? Bad Guy? All of these horrible things for a fucking plant people What should this guy have done? Wait for his job as a firefighter to be pissed away because the government has failed and cannot even afford to pay the cops and firefighters? Go on unemployment and barely make ends meat? Are we just supposed to sit around with our thumbs up our asses and wait for Obama to cut us some reparations? It's an absolute shame that in order for BILLIONS of humans to be allowed to partake in a PLANT that grows wild , we must pay our governments. Is our world turning into the GOVERNATOR'S film Total Recall and we are gonna be paying for air once Global Warming FUCKING KILLS US because of all of the old nasty ass geezers in Washington lining their pockets and not using hemp to is potential? Fuck taxing this plant or jail. The talks about legalizing all revolve around MONEY Not a single politician has come out and said IT IS THE SAFEST BUZZ OF THEM ALL. IT ABSOLUTELY IS!!!
This is not abortion people, IT IS WEED Can I get a Joint v. Blunt and not a Roe v. Wade? I don't give a shit about abortions. If women all across the world started getting their fetuses vacuumed out I could care less. Good for them. Healthcare? Please give me some. I got laid off and offered COBRA insurance. It was pretty competetively priced. over $500 a month for Health and $50 for dental. How the hell can I afford that? Maybe if I had a tree that grew money WAIT A MINUTE I DO but Uncle Sam wants a cut and can't figure out how to get the biggest piece of the pie I say fuck them all and more power to the people. Live your life how you feel fit as long as it does not harm your neighbor. When my neighbor comes over with a bag of weed it is the complete opposite of harm. Pull the wool from over your eyes people and gaze into a free land where the herb is abundant.......live free

 

[skycowboy]

OORAH !! Tstarks, I like the way ya put dat

 

[Propa Gator]

Of course it's about the money, but how much? Pissant bucks for buds, I don't think so. Energy moolah let's talk. Hemp is most productive biomass on land. Fiber better than cotton. Cellulose more than saw grass. Methanol, paper, textiles, food and oil. Medical and recreational use is minor value in the spectrum of positive attributes this supreme gift of nature plant offers. MJ flowers are a red herring issue.

 

[tonystarks]

I searched for a little more info on this with no luck. I hope this guy the best of luck and hopefully they don't throw the book at him.

 

[Jim Finnel]

here's the only thing i could come up with:

DEA Probing Drug Bust At Firefighter's Home
$700K In Marijuana Plants, Equipment Seized

BOSTON -- Police continue to investigate a sophisticated drug operation found inside the Maine home of a Boston firefighter on Friday.

NewsCenter 5’s Lynn Jolicoeur reported that police seized $700,000 worth of marijuana plants and growing equipment at the Bridgton, Maine, home of firefighter Sean Berte, who resigned Saturday following the raid.

Berte's father-in-law, Michael S. Domenici, 60, of Rehoboth, Mass., was arrested and charged with cultivation of marijuana.

Berte, who was working a shift in Boston when the raid took place, was questioned and released by federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents. Maine authorities listed Berte as a person of interest in the drug discovery, but he has not been charged.

A lawyer representing Berte said Sunday that he and his family are “concerned” about the situation.

“I’m sure that there’ll be some action taken by the government and we’ll be prepared to cooperate and present ourselves at the appropriate forum,” said attorney Philip Tracey Jr. Sunday.

Berte declined to answer questions about the situation at his Massachusetts home on Sunday. Fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald declined to comment on the raid, citing the fact that Berte is no longer employed as a firefighter.

“He’s not on our job anymore. He wouldn’t be in our fire houses anymore. …It’s really a police investigation,” said MacDonald.

Berte, 31, was assigned to ladder 17 on Columbus Avenue before he resigned. He was hired by the fire department in 2001.

Police seized 131 marijuana plants in the raid, along with chemicals and fertilizers used to grow the plants, according to Bridgton Police Chief David Lyons.

"This operation was sophisticated, well-organized," Lyons said. "This guy had it down to a science."

Bridgton police have been working with DEA agents, and an investigation led to Berte's home, Lyons said. This was the fourth major drug bust in Bridgton this year.

News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: TheBostonChannel.com
Copyright: 2009 TheBostonChannel.com
Contact: Boston News, Massachusetts News, Weather & Sports, Channel 5 TV - WCVB TheBostonChannel.com
Website: DEA Probing Drug Bust At Firefighter's Home - Boston News Story - WCVB Boston

 

[tonystarks]

I wonder what is more harmful : This man going to prison and losing his entire way of life or the herb he was growing???? I wish him the best of luck and hopefully he can get a garden going to pay his fines if he is found guilty....

 

[skycowboy]

OMG! This is the #%*$@#*%#@???!!! O.K., I'm better now. What a crock of poop ! This guy not only has a family to be concerned about, HE PUT's his LIFE on the line on a daily basis, FOR WHAT ? FOR OTHER PEOPLE'S SAFETY AND LIVES !!! tHIS GUY GOES TO WORK TO GO INTO PEOPLE'S BURNING BUILDINGS AND SAVE THEIR ASSES !!! What or who in the WORLD has the right to say he cannot unwind or medicate chronic pain ( go TRAIN with those boys and girls, not to mention the stress factor in a real sitution) or anxiety or whatever.
O.K. The 131 plants, How many were gonna turn male, what stage were they in, the fathernlaw or whatever was taken, so there is at least 2 patients, now, if he had a GREEN THUMB and an extra room and his 4 buddies that had the same situations did NOT, then it would be just a small co-op.
That is legal in lot of states right now.
SO,,, he get's crucified for having ,,,SOME FUCKIN' WEEDS IN HIS HOUSE !!!
Please pardon my pottymouth but, COME ON !! George Washington would've approved and maybe REQUIRED that kind of behavour.
BUT WE DO NOT HAVE THE SAME CALIBER OF LEADERS, THAT FOUNDED THIS COUNTRY, TODAY.

 

[Green Stink]

131 plants is a little more than a good guy's growing. This was a drug dealer who got greedy for money. He didn't pay his taxes on that extreme profit, and therefore I can't really say he didn't deserve it.

Now, if he donate dmoney like crazy and had a case for his crime scene I would be more supportive, but people in the higher ranks of marijuana tend to lose site of the communion and togetherness the drug causes. I think the breaking point is when people start doing it to fulfill a hunger rather than to utilize an altered perspective.

So you can't really feel bad for this guy... I mean, his operation was probably burning up with IR and he deserved to get caught. Although I can't say I dislike his farming because its better grown here than another country where our dollars flow out of the economy, he was definitely in the wrong for basically being a drug lord.

Unless you are one of the snitches in this case, how do you know why he had 131 plants? Does a family member have cancer....and all the debt that comes with it while uninsured? Is he a part time fireman with lots of family expenses and minimal income due to the current economy? Was he giving starter plants to medical patients and selling a little to pay for his couragoues efforts in helping those even worse off? Where these all seedlings...half or more males? I think you just presume you know everything. Where is my free weed you are handing out?....I have been out for a few days!

 

[Green Stink]

Unless you are one of the snitches in this case, how do you know why he had 131 plants? Does a family member have cancer....and all the debt that comes with it while uninsured? Is he a part time fireman with lots of family expenses and minimal income due to the current economy? Was he giving starter plants to medical patients and selling a little to pay for his couragoues efforts in helping those even worse off? Where these all seedlings...half or more males? I think you just presume you know everything. Where is my free weed you are handing out?....I have been out for a few days!

And unfortunately the feds were involved, so it most likely was a snitch, a jealous associate? Maine is pretty open, the charge for under 100 plants is maximum of 1yr in jail and $2000 max fine, but that is state law. Between 100 and 500plants is max of 5 yr prison and $5000 fine. You can see why pot farming is popular in the state (if under 100 plants)...especially for a single white male (no-one he supports).....probably a $1000 fine w/ 500 suspended and a suspended 6 mo jail sentence. This fireman most likely lived in York county, which includes Kittery, ME who at one point in history garnered the most arrests/capita in the country!! That area has the tightest and most conservative politics in the state, and the only area less than 90 minutes to Boston. Since I have been unemployed for 9 months...I'm kind of wishing I still lived in Maine, I don't dare in NH....own a house and have a daughter.....damn SNITCHES!!

 

[Stealthy1]

Taxes? Jail? Bad Guy? All of these horrible things for a fucking plant people What should this guy have done? Wait for his job as a firefighter to be pissed away because the government has failed and cannot even afford to pay the cops and firefighters? Go on unemployment and barely make ends meat? Are we just supposed to sit around with our thumbs up our asses and wait for Obama to cut us some reparations? It's an absolute shame that in order for BILLIONS of humans to be allowed to partake in a PLANT that grows wild , we must pay our governments. Is our world turning into the GOVERNATOR'S film Total Recall and we are gonna be paying for air once Global Warming FUCKING KILLS US because of all of the old nasty ass geezers in Washington lining their pockets and not using hemp to is potential? Fuck taxing this plant or jail. The talks about legalizing all revolve around MONEY Not a single politician has come out and said IT IS THE SAFEST BUZZ OF THEM ALL. IT ABSOLUTELY IS!!!
This is not abortion people, IT IS WEED Can I get a Joint v. Blunt and not a Roe v. Wade? I don't give a shit about abortions. If women all across the world started getting their fetuses vacuumed out I could care less. Good for them. Healthcare? Please give me some. I got laid off and offered COBRA insurance. It was pretty competetively priced. over $500 a month for Health and $50 for dental. How the hell can I afford that? Maybe if I had a tree that grew money WAIT A MINUTE I DO but Uncle Sam wants a cut and can't figure out how to get the biggest piece of the pie I say fuck them all and more power to the people. Live your life how you feel fit as long as it does not harm your neighbor. When my neighbor comes over with a bag of weed it is the complete opposite of harm. Pull the wool from over your eyes people and gaze into a free land where the herb is abundant.......live free

Amen! can I get a hallelujah! ....Oh sorry what he said