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Adams Man Charged in Drug Importation Scheme
BOSTON — Daniel Borer of Adams is accused of importing synthetic drugs from China through the U.S. Postal Service and using them to manufacture "massive wholesale quantities of smokeable synthetic cannabinoids" for sale throughout the United States.
Borer, 42, and his alleged accomplice, postal worker Josephine McLaughlin, 65, of Stoneham, were arrested Thursday by law enforcement officials and arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessey in Boston. Their cases were transferred to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in the Southern District of New York.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman for the Southern District of New York said Jonathan Riendeau, 38, of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., who operated several websites on which he sold the drugs, has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the government.
The government charges that Borer and McLaughlin operated the import scheme from at least February 2014 until this month. SSC, which can be addictive, are often marketed as safe, legal alternatives to marijuana. In fact, SSC are not safe, according to government officials, and may affect the brain much more powerfully than marijuana; their actual effects can be unpredictable and, in some cases, more dangerous or even life-threatening.
The synthetics, colloquially referred to as K2 or Spice, were sent through the mail to locations throughout the Unitd States. Some of the SSC distributed by the scheme were branded with colorful graphics and distinctive names, including "Dead Man Walking," "Klimax," "Zero Gravity," "Twilite," "Psycho," and "Get Real." The branded SSC were sometimes marked "not for human consumption," or "potpourri." Other of the SSC were distributed in bulk quantities.
"Trafficking of synthetic cannabinoids – sometimes called K2 or Spice – poses a serious threat to public health and safety. Packaged attractively to appeal to teenagers and young adults, synthetic cannabinoids are in reality a toxic cocktail that can be very dangerous to consume," Berman said in a press release. "As alleged, Daniel Borer and Josephine McLaughlin imported massive quantities of synthetic cannabinoids and distributed them in smokeable form to retail dealers throughout the United States. Thanks to our law enforcement partners, Borer and McLaughlin have been arrested and their dangerous business has been dismantled."
Borer and McLaughlin are each charged with three counts of conspiring unlawfully to import and distribute controlled substances and controlled substance analogues. Each count can carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Riendeau pled guilty on Jan. 31 to six counts: three counts of conspiracy unlawfully to distribute controlled substances and controlled substance analogues; two counts of unlawful importation of controlled substances and controlled substance analogues; and one count of unlawfully distributing a controlled substance. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The case is being investigated by the New York Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the New York Field Office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations and with the aide of the Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force and state police assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert B. Sobelman is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the superseding indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. v Daniel Borer by on Scribd
North Adams Firefighters Respond to Stove Fire
Fire Chief Stephen Meranti photographs the controls of a stove that caught fire on Monday. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Firefighters responded to a stove fire at 133 Reed St. on Monday afternoon.
The appliance was quickly removed from the house and the area ventilated. The A shift was initially called in to cover the station but the scene was cleared fairly quickly.
The call came in at about 3:30 p.m. Two trucks, police and Northern Berkshire EMS responded to the scene. Reed Street is located near the top of Gallup Street.
Crash in Cheshire Kills Adams Man
CHESHIRE, Mass. — An Adams man was killed in a motor vehicle accident on Sunday morning on Lanesborough Road.
William M. Morrissette, 26, was traveling east when his vehicle crossed the westbound lane, exited the roadway and struck a tree, according to state police.
Troopers from the Cheshire Barracks in Cheshire responded to reports of a crash, in front of house No. 80, at about 7:51 a.m.
Upon arrival, Trooper Kyle Jolin discovered that a 2014 Nissan Altima, for reasons still under investigation, had crashed.
An off-duty North Adams firefighter arrived on scene first, extricated Morrissette and began CPR on him. Morrissette was subsequently transported by Adams Ambulance Service to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, where he was pronounced dead by medical personnel.
The remaining facts and circumstances of the crash are currently under investigation by troopers from the Cheshire Barracks.
Troop B Headquarters, State Police Crime Scene Services Section (CSSS), State Police Collision Analysis Reconstruction Section (CARS), troopers assigned to the State Police Detective Unit of Berkshire County, Cheshire Fire Department, and Adams EMS, all assisted on scene.
No further information is currently available.
Superior Court Briefs: Feb 5 - Feb. 7
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Monday, Feb. 5.
Christopher Letalien, 34, of North Adams pleaded guilty to a single count of possession of a Class B drug with intent to distribute, his second offense.
He was sentenced to two and a half years at the Berkshire County House of Correction with the last six months suspended for a probation period of two years.
Letalien sold Ritalin to a North Adams police officer on December 11, 2018 after accidentally texting the officer about the drugs.
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
Brian Jones, 23, of North Adams pleaded guilty to a single count of permitting bodily injury to a child.
He was given two years probation and ordered not to have unsupervised contact with children under the age of 16 or work or volunteer as a caretaker for children.
Isabella Leger, 22, of North Adams pleaded guilty to a single count of permitting bodily injury to a child.
She was given two years probation and ordered not to have unsupervised contact with children under the age of 16 or work or volunteer as a caretaker for children.
The charge was linked to an incident in North Adams on October 14, 2016.
North Adams Firefighters Douse Basement Garage Fire
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Firefighters on Thursday responded to the third fire in a month on the north side of the city.
The early evening fire at 66 Harris St. forced the occupants to flee and destroyed much of the basement garage and scorched the siding above the garage door.
"The guys arrived on scene and saw the fire showing from the garage door," said Fire Chief Stephen Meranti. "They were able to access it very easily and contain it to the garage. ... We have smoke damage throughout the building but it's not major."
The garage incurred significant damage to the materials stored inside and to the wiring.
"The Sheetrock — the envelope you build for the garage — kept it in the garage area," he said. "So the building code works in separating the garage from the rest of the house."
The blaze extended up the south side of the single-family cape, scorching and melting the siding but not affecting the structure.
Meranti said it was not yet clear what had caused the fire and that the family would not be allowed back in that night. He said they had a place to go.
The incoming shift was called in to assist and the top part of Harris at the North Street intersection was closed off to traffic. The fire had been contained and firefighters were sifting through scene by 7:30 p.m.
This was the third house fire so far this year. A major structure fire on Jan. 7 at an apartment building on Houghton Street across from North left four families homeless; on Feb. 1, an attempt to thaw pipes with a blowtorch caused a basement fire at 129 North St. late that night. The owner and his family was able to get out of the building but the Victorian is currently uninhabitable.