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Please distribute this article wide and far. This man was given life for
growing marijuana!
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URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1903/a10.html
Newshawk: chip
Pubdate: Sat, 10 Nov 2001
Source: Evansville Courier & Press (IN)
Copyright: 2001 The Evansville Courier
Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Website: http://www.courierpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/138
Author: John Martin
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
DALE MAN GIVEN LIFE SENTENCE IN DRUG CASE
A Dale, Ind., man received a life prison sentence Thursday in connection
with a sophisticated marijuana operation in Michigan that involved
several local individuals, including a former executive director of the
ECHO Health Center in Evansville. The marijuana farming operation is
believed to be one of the biggest ever discovered in Michigan, and
authorities say large amounts were distributed in the Evansville area.
Federal authorities say Chad Robinson, 45, of Dale, purchased a 75-acre
farm in Sanilac County, Mich., where marijuana worth millions of dollars
was produced in 1995 and 1996.
Authorities discovered the marijuana operation in October 1996 while
investigating a complaint of horses running loose in the area.
Ties to the operation were found in the Evansville area as well as in
Kentucky and Ohio. Authorities say the farm was bought by Robinson in
February 1995, and more than 14,000 pot plants were processed there that
year. The figure grew to 19,000 plants in 1996, say authorities.
Robinson's life sentence was ordered Thursday by U.S. District Judge
David Lawson in Bay City, Mich.
Authorities say the drug charge on which Robinson was convicted normally
carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years, but it was upgraded in his case
because of two prior felony drug convictions.
Other local individuals charged in connection with the operation
include: Ralph Michael Kough, 53, the former ECHO Health Center executive
director. Kough received a two-year prison sentence in May after
pleading guilty to a federal marijuana charge.
He was convicted of buying marijuana from the farm for local
distribution.
Kough's wife, 53-year-old Barbara Kough, has pleaded guilty to Indiana
state marijuana charges arising from a search warrant execution at her
home in 1998. She has not been sentenced.
Marcus Robinson, 53, of Tennyson, Ind., was the owner of record on the
Michigan farm and one of its primary financiers, say authorities.
He was sentenced Sept. 26 to 15 years in federal prison.
Rex R. Robinson, 40, of Oakland City, Ind., has been convicted of two
federal drug charges and is still awaiting sentencing.
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MAP posted-by: Beth
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