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2 women, 59, plead guilty: Smell of money lured them, then led to their
downfall
Scott Stinson
National Post, with files from news services
Kathleen Jenny and Ginger Erickson appeared to be model citizens. The
59-year-old friends were both happily married with nice homes in a posh
suburb of Spokane, Wash. They owned an interior design business that was
awash in cash, judging by the large regular deposits they made at a local
bank. But one detail suggested something suspicious: those banknotes smelled
like marijuana.
After a bank teller with a keen olfactory sense alerted police in February,
investigators began a four-month probe that uncovered a massive pot-growing
operation that included five houses and as many as 4,000 marijuana plants.
Prosecutors allege the women were the driving force behind the
multi-million-dollar operation, although their husbands, Francis Jenny, 65,
and Jack Erickson, 66, were also arrested and charged in June. All four
pleaded guilty this week to drug-manufacturing and money-laundering charges.
Greg Montgomery, 54, a childhood friend of Ms. Jenny, pleaded guilty to drug
distribution charges.
Detective Mark Burbridge of the Spokane Police Department says the bust is
"far and away the biggest home-growing operation we've stopped."
The list of items police seized as profits of drug operations includes five
homes valued between US$136,000 and $US343,000, several vehicles, more than
US$110,000 in cash and luxury items ranging from Russian mink coats to
crystal and porcelain.
"I must have taken $1-million worth of stuff from the Jenny house alone,"
Det. Burbridge says. "One closet had 200 pairs of shoes with the price tags
still on, and I found a custom-made Bob Mackie leather jacket estimated to
be worth US$20,000."
The Jennys and Ericksons were not suspected of any criminal involvement
until police received the tip from the suspicious bank teller, Det.
Burbridge says.
"I looked at the bank accounts, and there was no criminal history there," he
says. The women made regular deposits, but they kept them under the $10,000
limit at which federal law requires the bank to determine the source of the
funds.
The detective turned to the women's electricity accounts. He found houses
with accounts in each of their names and three houses with accounts in the
name of their company -- EJ Designs. The electricity usage was the smoking
gun the detective sought.
"The bills were for amounts triple and quadruple what a family of five or
six would use," he says, calling it a sure sign the homes were powering
high-intensity lights used to grow marijuana plants.
To confirm his suspicions, the detective went out that night to see if he
could "get any sniffs" -- police shorthand for discovering the scent of
marijuana in the air. Standing on the street in front of one of the homes,
he says the smell of marijuana was evident.
Following that low-tech investigative technique, Det. Burbridge called in
the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the two organizations began using more
high-tech means to compile evidence against the unsuspecting accused.
They installed time-lapse cameras to photograph each of the homes and verify
the owners' involvement in the pot-growing operation. "We needed to prove
that they were coming and going from the house, so they couldn't turn around
and say, 'We rented it to some guy named Joe and we don't have any idea what
he's been up to.' "
The cameras showed the Jennys, the Ericksons and Mr. Montgomery as the only
people with access to the homes.
"Once we had all the cameras up, you could watch the tapes and see them
going from house to house to house, like they were doing their rounds."
Investigators also used surveillance aircraft and grand jury subpoenas to
obtain bank records and income-tax returns.
In documents made public this week, prosecutors contend Ms. Jenny and Ms.
Erickson were the brains behind the operation, which they say began in 1994
in their basements.
"They were the moving force behind the conspiracy to grow marijuana," said
Tom Rice, a U.S. assistant district attorney in Spokane.
The documents allege that, as the enterprise grew, the women brought in
their husbands to help run it. Mr. Jenny was a farmer and Mr. Erickson an
insurance salesman.
Det. Burbridge says Mr. Jenny's electrical skills were needed to rewire the
houses to make them better-suited to grow large amounts of marijuana.
Mr. Montgomery has a long history of drug-related offences, and
investigators believe he provided the initial link between Ms. Jenny, his
old friend from Lewiston, Idaho, and the drug business.
In cutting a deal with prosecutors, Mr. Montgomery said he knew marijuana
was being grown by the two couples. He also admitted he acted as distributor
of the processed marijuana, which found ready buyers in the Spokane area and
out of state.
Ms. Jenny and Ms. Erickson pleaded guilty to money laundering, authorities
said. They face up to six years in prison, instead of the mandatory 10-year
federal prison term. Their husbands pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
manufacture more than 1,000 marijuana plants, and they face between 2 1/2
and three years in prison.
Pat Stiley, a lawyer for the Jennys, did not return calls for comment last
night.
The couples could also face up to US$100,000 in community restitution fines
and the loss of their homes, as well as of their personal property.
The five will remain free until they are sentenced in the spring.
Mr. Rice said federal agencies are investigating whether more people were
involved.
Pubdate: Thursday, January 09, 2003
Source: National Post (Canada)
Contact: letters@nationalpost.com
Website: National Post
Author: Scott Stinson
downfall
Scott Stinson
National Post, with files from news services
Kathleen Jenny and Ginger Erickson appeared to be model citizens. The
59-year-old friends were both happily married with nice homes in a posh
suburb of Spokane, Wash. They owned an interior design business that was
awash in cash, judging by the large regular deposits they made at a local
bank. But one detail suggested something suspicious: those banknotes smelled
like marijuana.
After a bank teller with a keen olfactory sense alerted police in February,
investigators began a four-month probe that uncovered a massive pot-growing
operation that included five houses and as many as 4,000 marijuana plants.
Prosecutors allege the women were the driving force behind the
multi-million-dollar operation, although their husbands, Francis Jenny, 65,
and Jack Erickson, 66, were also arrested and charged in June. All four
pleaded guilty this week to drug-manufacturing and money-laundering charges.
Greg Montgomery, 54, a childhood friend of Ms. Jenny, pleaded guilty to drug
distribution charges.
Detective Mark Burbridge of the Spokane Police Department says the bust is
"far and away the biggest home-growing operation we've stopped."
The list of items police seized as profits of drug operations includes five
homes valued between US$136,000 and $US343,000, several vehicles, more than
US$110,000 in cash and luxury items ranging from Russian mink coats to
crystal and porcelain.
"I must have taken $1-million worth of stuff from the Jenny house alone,"
Det. Burbridge says. "One closet had 200 pairs of shoes with the price tags
still on, and I found a custom-made Bob Mackie leather jacket estimated to
be worth US$20,000."
The Jennys and Ericksons were not suspected of any criminal involvement
until police received the tip from the suspicious bank teller, Det.
Burbridge says.
"I looked at the bank accounts, and there was no criminal history there," he
says. The women made regular deposits, but they kept them under the $10,000
limit at which federal law requires the bank to determine the source of the
funds.
The detective turned to the women's electricity accounts. He found houses
with accounts in each of their names and three houses with accounts in the
name of their company -- EJ Designs. The electricity usage was the smoking
gun the detective sought.
"The bills were for amounts triple and quadruple what a family of five or
six would use," he says, calling it a sure sign the homes were powering
high-intensity lights used to grow marijuana plants.
To confirm his suspicions, the detective went out that night to see if he
could "get any sniffs" -- police shorthand for discovering the scent of
marijuana in the air. Standing on the street in front of one of the homes,
he says the smell of marijuana was evident.
Following that low-tech investigative technique, Det. Burbridge called in
the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the two organizations began using more
high-tech means to compile evidence against the unsuspecting accused.
They installed time-lapse cameras to photograph each of the homes and verify
the owners' involvement in the pot-growing operation. "We needed to prove
that they were coming and going from the house, so they couldn't turn around
and say, 'We rented it to some guy named Joe and we don't have any idea what
he's been up to.' "
The cameras showed the Jennys, the Ericksons and Mr. Montgomery as the only
people with access to the homes.
"Once we had all the cameras up, you could watch the tapes and see them
going from house to house to house, like they were doing their rounds."
Investigators also used surveillance aircraft and grand jury subpoenas to
obtain bank records and income-tax returns.
In documents made public this week, prosecutors contend Ms. Jenny and Ms.
Erickson were the brains behind the operation, which they say began in 1994
in their basements.
"They were the moving force behind the conspiracy to grow marijuana," said
Tom Rice, a U.S. assistant district attorney in Spokane.
The documents allege that, as the enterprise grew, the women brought in
their husbands to help run it. Mr. Jenny was a farmer and Mr. Erickson an
insurance salesman.
Det. Burbridge says Mr. Jenny's electrical skills were needed to rewire the
houses to make them better-suited to grow large amounts of marijuana.
Mr. Montgomery has a long history of drug-related offences, and
investigators believe he provided the initial link between Ms. Jenny, his
old friend from Lewiston, Idaho, and the drug business.
In cutting a deal with prosecutors, Mr. Montgomery said he knew marijuana
was being grown by the two couples. He also admitted he acted as distributor
of the processed marijuana, which found ready buyers in the Spokane area and
out of state.
Ms. Jenny and Ms. Erickson pleaded guilty to money laundering, authorities
said. They face up to six years in prison, instead of the mandatory 10-year
federal prison term. Their husbands pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
manufacture more than 1,000 marijuana plants, and they face between 2 1/2
and three years in prison.
Pat Stiley, a lawyer for the Jennys, did not return calls for comment last
night.
The couples could also face up to US$100,000 in community restitution fines
and the loss of their homes, as well as of their personal property.
The five will remain free until they are sentenced in the spring.
Mr. Rice said federal agencies are investigating whether more people were
involved.
Pubdate: Thursday, January 09, 2003
Source: National Post (Canada)
Contact: letters@nationalpost.com
Website: National Post
Author: Scott Stinson
