POT BUST YIELDS $2.4 MILLION IN CASH

Hollywood Florida's Biggest Raid Ever.

At $2.4 million in cash and more than 700 mature marijuana plants
seized, Thursday's eight-house raid was the biggest one-day pot bust
in Hollywood's history.

On Friday, Hollywood police laid both greens on a table.

The leafy plants filled the space with a distinct scent, and the
stacks of hundred-dollar bills captured everyone's attention.

Police said they believe the four men arrested Thursday ran a pot-
growing ring that, with 700 mature plants, could have produced $14
million a year in profits.

On average, each plant produces one pound of street-ready marijuana a
month, which sells for about $5,000.

The arrested: Robert James Pelletier, 42, of Hollywood; Michael R.
Blood, 40, of Hallandale; and brothers Mark Stephen Bettencourt 33,
and Robert M. Bettencourt, 27, both of Hollywood.

They each face charges of marijuana cultivation, marijuana
trafficking, conspiracy to traffic drugs and possession of drug
paraphernalia.

Police are not sure whether the men will be prosecuted in state or
federal court, Hollywood Police Capt. Allen Siegel said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the South Broward Drug
Enforcement Unit -- a federally funded task force with officers from
several departments -- assisted in the busts.

The raids began in Hollywood, Dania Beach and Wilton Manors at 5 a.m.
on Thursday.

Police found pot plants and high-tech growing equipment in at least
five of the eight homes they searched.

They arrested Mark Bettencourt at an apartment on Tigertail Boulevard
in Dania Beach.

When police arrested Pelletier at his Rodman Street home, they found
the $2.4 million stashed in safes in his truck, Hollywood Police Lt.
Tony Rode said.

Rode said officers had been tracking some of the suspects for two or
three years, but the officers intensified the investigation -- making
connections between the drug houses and getting probable cause for
search warrants -- in the past month.

Often, he said, the officers worked 20-hour days trying to nail down
the case.

The confiscated money will stay in Broward, Hollywood Police Chief Jim
Scarberry said.

As much as 15 percent may be donated to charitable groups in
Hollywood.

The rest, he said, will be used to pay officers the overtime they
accrued in this case as well as other police department expenses


Pubdate: Sat, 12 Jul 2003
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2003 The Miami Herald
Contact: heralded@herald.com
Website: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/