The federal government brought down a legal hemp grow, not a black market marijuana operation, in Franklin County four years ago, a defense attorney for the accused ringleader of a $13 million pot conspiracy argued Wednesday at the start of a trial.
Lucas Sirois allegedly ran the multimillion-dollar black market marijuana operation. His father, Robert Sirois, is also accused of being involved in maintaining the operation. Their six-day jury trial started Wednesday morning in U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor.
The trial is the final legal chapter of an alleged conspiracy to sell pot illegally in Maine that ultimately led to charges against 13 people in 2021. A local selectman, an assistant district attorney and two former Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputies eventually pleaded guilty to felonies as part of the scheme.
It wasn’t marijuana the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized when it raided buildings, defense attorney Eric Postow said during opening statements. Instead it was hemp.
Both products are derived from the same cannabis sativa plant and faulty testing from the government produced incorrect results, said Postow, defense attorney for Lucas Sirois. The government’s tests heated up the plant samples, which can change it from non-psychoactive to psychoactive, Postow said.
It was marijuana at the center of the whole investigation, which will be proven by tests, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew McCormack said during the opening statements.
More than 20 boxes labeled “DEA evidence” line the side of the courtroom. Each of those boxes has multiple plastic envelopes filled with marijuana seized from properties involved in this case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Noah Faulk said.
Lucas Sirois is alleged to be the leader of the conspiracy. He was licensed to grow medical marijuana in Maine and is charged with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana; conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and impede and impair the Internal Revenue Service; bank fraud; and tax evasion.
Robert Sirois is charged with one count each of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. He is banned from handling marijuana because he is a convicted felon.
The remaining 11 people, including Lucas Sirois’ estranged wife, Alisa Sirois, have pleaded guilty to felony charges.
Former Rangeley selectman David Burgess was the first person to testify. He said that no one ever used the word “hemp” about the product they were growing and selling and that the product they had was not hemp.
About 56 marijuana plants were grown and 80 pounds of marijuana were processed a week, at the old shoe factory where he worked, called the “Shoe Shop,” on High Street in Farmington, Burgess said.
The plants they grew were never sold to industrial manufacturers to create things like rope, Burgess said.
Burgess testified as part of a plea agreement with the federal government. He pleaded guilty June 22, 2023, to one count each of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana; conspiracy to commit honest services fraud; and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and impede and impair the IRS. One count each of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering were dismissed.
As long as Burgess does not lie on the stand, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will submit a letter to the judge asking for leniency for his sentence, he said.
For nearly a year from 2019 to 2020, Burgess was in charge of managing the money from the operation run by the Sirois father-son duo. Burgess tracked the cash intake with a spreadsheet and kept it sorted in shoe boxes, he testified.
There was anywhere from $300,000 to $800,000 of cash on hand at any one time, Burgess said. It was kept in multiple shoe boxes in a safe in his house, he said.
“It was an overwhelming experience,” Burgess said.
Burgess was paid $4,000 a week, he said.
Robert Sirois was paid $25 an hour to perform maintenance on the buildings, including fixing issues with lighting, heating and water, Burgess said. Robert Sirois was an employee, not an owner in the businesses, Burgess testified.
Burgess also testified about email conversations between himself, Lucas Sirois and another defendant, Kenneth Allen. In those emails there were conversations about changing how taxes were filed to reduce the tax liability Lucas Sirois owed the IRS. The result was he owed nearly nothing, Burgess said.
The federal government alleges those changes were made to defraud the IRS and commit tax evasion.
In 2019, two Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies quit their jobs to start working at the Shoe Shop, Burgess said. The presence of those men, Bradley Scovil and Derrick Doucette, caused “more havoc and chaos,” Burgess said.
That led to meetings between five people to create a new organization, he said. Robert Sirois was not part of that conversation, Burgess said.
Scovil and Doucette have each pleaded guilty to felony charges as part of plea agreements. The men are on the list of trial witnesses.
The FBI raided several properties in Franklin County in July 2020 that were believed to be trafficking marijuana. The conspiracy became public in October 2021 when the first person pleaded guilty.
Also on trial are businesses Lakemont LLC, Sandy River Properties LLC and Spruce Valley LLC, which are each charged with maintaining a drug-involved premise.
The trial is scheduled to continue Thursday.
