Brian J. Bilodeau had 183 pounds of marijuana and butane hash oil in a vault room in the basement of his Auburn home, according to a court affidavit.
A second man has been charged in connection with a major drug raid that federal and local officers made on marijuana growing operations in Lewiston and Auburn on Tuesday.
Brian J. Bilodeau, 33, was arrested Tuesday after federal agents raided his home at 72 Danville Corner Road in Auburn.
He made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Portland on Wednesday afternoon on charges of illegal possession of a firearm in relation to drug trafficking and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, said Donald Clark, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Bilodeau did not enter a plea and was ordered held without bail pending a detention hearing, likely to be on Monday, Clark said.
Federal, state and local law enforcement agents executed more than 20 search warrants in the Lewiston-Auburn area Tuesday, targeting what the U.S. Attorney’s Office says is a drug trafficking organization that grew and distributed large quantities of marijuana under the cover of Maine’s medical marijuana program.
The organization also grew marijuana as a precursor for the illegal manufacture of marijuana concentrates known as butane hash oil and “shatter,” a product made from butane hash oil, according to court papers.The enforcement action involving marijuana is the third in less than two months by U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank, whose boss, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, repealed an Obama administration policy that said the federal government would not pursue marijuana possession cases in most circumstances.
Agents searched Bilodeau’s home, where they seized a reported 183 pounds of marijuana, butane hash oil, a loaded .380-caliber pistol, a loaded 9mm pistol, an unloaded .45-caliber pistol and an unloaded .22-caliber rifle.
The marijuana, hash oil and one gun were found in a concrete room measuring 8 feet by 10 feet in the basement of Bilodeau’s home that was secured by a metal vault door, according to an affidavit filed by a federal drug agent in court papers. Two guns were found in the master bedroom; one was lying atop the nightstand, loaded. The rifle was located in another bedroom.
Agents also seized a 2016 Lamborghini Huracan, valued at $190,000, and a black 2014 Nissan GT-R, valued at $60,000, because the automobiles could potentially be forfeited as proceeds from drug trafficking, assisted in drug trafficking or were involved in money laundering offenses.
Bilodeau made a $95,500 cash down payment on the Lamborghini to a dealer in North Miami Beach, Florida, in March 2017. His monthly payments on the car were $2,671.61, according to court papers.
Also on Tuesday, federal agents arrested Richard “Stitch” Daniels, 52, and charged him with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and manufacturing butane hash oil. An affidavit accuses Daniels of having received marijuana from the growing organization to sell outside of Maine, and to extract concentrates from the cannabis.
If convicted, Bilodeau faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine on the drug charge, and between five years and life in prison and a $250,000 fine on the firearms charge.
Bilodeau has no criminal record but does have a series of driving convictions, including speeding in 2014 and 2017, two convictions of failure to display a valid registration plate, and operating a motor vehicle with a passenger who had an open container of alcohol.
He had applied in 2016 in Lewiston as a caregiver in connection with a medical marijuana facility permit.
Bilodeau is an accomplished amateur golfer and a regular competitor in the Maine Amateur.
Late last month, Frank announced that a Bangor man pleaded guilty to federal charges related to a large marijuana-growing operation in the Waldo County town of Frankfort.
On Feb. 16, an Etna man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to conspiring to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, also in Frankfort.
credit:pressherald.com
