United States Drug Enforcement Administration

(SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that the Honorable Garland E. Burrell Jr., District Judge, sentenced Robert Edward Mulready, of Placerville, California, to forty-two months imprisonment and a four-year term of supervised release. 

Mr. Mulready previously pled guilty to conspiring to cultivate and distribute at least 100 marijuana plants in violation of Title 21, United States Code Sections 841(a)(1) and 846.  Court documents filed with the criminal complaint in this case alleged that Mulready traveled to California for the purpose of growing marijuana and that he sold the marijuana to individuals out-of-state because it was more lucrative than selling to local dispensaries.  Documents also allege that Mr. Mulready received two packages filled with cash from out-of-state individuals.  A search of Mulready’s house revealed several hundred marijuana plants, along with processed marijuana and packaging materials.  Mr. Mulready also had over $155,000 in cash at his house, including numerous bundles of cash hidden in his attic.
 
In sentencing Mr. Mulready to 42 months, Judge Burrell noted the dangers that marijuana cultivation operations pose to the community, explaining that they are a “magnet” for crime.

This case is the product of an investigation by the El Dorado County’s Mountain and Valley Marijuana Investigation (MAVMIT) and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.  Assistant United States Attorney Todd A. Pickles is prosecuting the case.