Connecticut - A federal grand jury in New Haven is investigating what Ansonia police have called the most sophisticated marijuana growing operationthey'veeverseen,according to an Ansonia police official.
"They have to have grand jury testimony to make a determination whether or not there's going to be an indictment," Ansonia police Lt. Andrew Cota said Thursday. He said at least two Ansonia police detectives have been called to testify before the grand jury.
Cota said federal law enforcement officials had been aware of the marijuana-growing operation "from the beginning" -- federal Drug Enforcement Agency officials participated in the first raids -- but "as the case grew, they got more interested in it." He was uncertain of when the grand jury was convened or how far along in the process it was.
U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Tom Carson said Thursday, "I can't confirm or deny anything" about a grand jury investigation.
Ansonia police made their first arrests in the case in November 2008, following a raid of homes at 63 and 72 Root Ave. Police seized about 1,000 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of more than $300,000, as well as several firearms. Arrested at that time were former city Alderman Joseph Cassetti, then 58, of 72 Root Ave., first floor, Ansonia; Cheyne Mazza, then 26, of Oxford; and his cousin, Paul Mazza, then 26, of Citrus Springs, Fla. In the months that followed, Ansonia police uncovered another growing operation at 21 Pawnee Road, Oxford, and made arrests for possession at 11 McKinley Ave., Derby, and 34 Wedge Hill Road, Oxford. TheyalsoarrestedCheyne Mazza's sister, Sterling Mazza, 24, of Ansonia; James Canavan of Ansonia; and Philip Negron of Derby.
Their cases are pending in Superior Court in Derby.
Cheyne Mazza, who appears to be at the center of the operation, was arrested a total of five times by Ansonia police between November 2008 and December 2009, all related to marijuana and marijuana growing. He was also arrested by Massachusetts authorities in April 2009 following a police investigation into a large-scale marijuanagrowing operation at a Sandisfield, Mass., home, and in May 2009 by Westchester County, N.Y., police after a routine motor vehicle stop turned up nearly three pounds of marijuana.
According to Jeffrey Meyer, associate professor of law at Quinnipiac University and a former federal prosecutor, about 40 percent of cases on the federal docket are related to drugs.
"The feds don't typically do nickel-and-dime local cases. They don't typically do possession cases. They usually do larger-scale trafficking cases," Meyer said.
He said a federal grand jury has powerful tools that are unavailable to Connecticut law enforcement officials, including the ability to subpoena people for documents and testimony, and to wiretap telephone conversations.
And though most federal drug cases involve *******, crack or ******e, "For the marijuana cases they do, the sentencing guidelines can be pretty strict, depending on how much the whole operation is deemed to have been trafficking," he said.
Meyer said a grand jury, which is made up of between 16 and 23 citizens, typically convenes secretly about three days each month for a period of 12 to 18 months, to hear testimony from witnesses called by the U.S. attorney's office and examine documents. Only the prosecutor, witnesses and a court reporter are permitted to be in the room with the grand jury.
"Ultimately, the grand jury considers a charge which is called an indictment and decides upon whether there's probable cause to support a return of the indictment," Meyer said. If an indictment is returned, the prosecutor presents it to the judge and an arrest warrant is issued for the defendant.
Meyer said, "It's extremely common for cases to run on parallel tracks and for the Feds and state to work together."
He added, "Typically, if someone has been charged already in the state system, and then they're about to be indicted in the federal system, you would usually expect one of those charges to fall away. It's not constitutionally required, but that's usually what prosecutors try to do."
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: New Haven Register
Contact: Leagle.com
Copyright: 2009 Leagle, Inc.
Website: Leagle.com
"They have to have grand jury testimony to make a determination whether or not there's going to be an indictment," Ansonia police Lt. Andrew Cota said Thursday. He said at least two Ansonia police detectives have been called to testify before the grand jury.
Cota said federal law enforcement officials had been aware of the marijuana-growing operation "from the beginning" -- federal Drug Enforcement Agency officials participated in the first raids -- but "as the case grew, they got more interested in it." He was uncertain of when the grand jury was convened or how far along in the process it was.
U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Tom Carson said Thursday, "I can't confirm or deny anything" about a grand jury investigation.
Ansonia police made their first arrests in the case in November 2008, following a raid of homes at 63 and 72 Root Ave. Police seized about 1,000 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of more than $300,000, as well as several firearms. Arrested at that time were former city Alderman Joseph Cassetti, then 58, of 72 Root Ave., first floor, Ansonia; Cheyne Mazza, then 26, of Oxford; and his cousin, Paul Mazza, then 26, of Citrus Springs, Fla. In the months that followed, Ansonia police uncovered another growing operation at 21 Pawnee Road, Oxford, and made arrests for possession at 11 McKinley Ave., Derby, and 34 Wedge Hill Road, Oxford. TheyalsoarrestedCheyne Mazza's sister, Sterling Mazza, 24, of Ansonia; James Canavan of Ansonia; and Philip Negron of Derby.
Their cases are pending in Superior Court in Derby.
Cheyne Mazza, who appears to be at the center of the operation, was arrested a total of five times by Ansonia police between November 2008 and December 2009, all related to marijuana and marijuana growing. He was also arrested by Massachusetts authorities in April 2009 following a police investigation into a large-scale marijuanagrowing operation at a Sandisfield, Mass., home, and in May 2009 by Westchester County, N.Y., police after a routine motor vehicle stop turned up nearly three pounds of marijuana.
According to Jeffrey Meyer, associate professor of law at Quinnipiac University and a former federal prosecutor, about 40 percent of cases on the federal docket are related to drugs.
"The feds don't typically do nickel-and-dime local cases. They don't typically do possession cases. They usually do larger-scale trafficking cases," Meyer said.
He said a federal grand jury has powerful tools that are unavailable to Connecticut law enforcement officials, including the ability to subpoena people for documents and testimony, and to wiretap telephone conversations.
And though most federal drug cases involve *******, crack or ******e, "For the marijuana cases they do, the sentencing guidelines can be pretty strict, depending on how much the whole operation is deemed to have been trafficking," he said.
Meyer said a grand jury, which is made up of between 16 and 23 citizens, typically convenes secretly about three days each month for a period of 12 to 18 months, to hear testimony from witnesses called by the U.S. attorney's office and examine documents. Only the prosecutor, witnesses and a court reporter are permitted to be in the room with the grand jury.
"Ultimately, the grand jury considers a charge which is called an indictment and decides upon whether there's probable cause to support a return of the indictment," Meyer said. If an indictment is returned, the prosecutor presents it to the judge and an arrest warrant is issued for the defendant.
Meyer said, "It's extremely common for cases to run on parallel tracks and for the Feds and state to work together."
He added, "Typically, if someone has been charged already in the state system, and then they're about to be indicted in the federal system, you would usually expect one of those charges to fall away. It's not constitutionally required, but that's usually what prosecutors try to do."
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: New Haven Register
Contact: Leagle.com
Copyright: 2009 Leagle, Inc.
Website: Leagle.com
