Knoxville Bust

[JAM]

None of those names looks that familiar to me.

Sometimes that's the way the pool world is when it comes to real names. You might not recognize their names in print, but if you saw them in person, you'd definitely know who they are, especially if somebody told you what their pool monikers are.

Since we are on the topic of Tennessee pool players going to jail did anyone ever find out how Bobby Pickle ended up with his most recent brush with the law? Just curious.

Just heard today from a reliable source that Bobby is still incarcerated, but he believes that he is going to get out soon.

 

[ibuycues]

Don`t Know

None of those names looks that familiar to me. Since we are on the topic of Tennessee pool players going to jail did anyone ever find out how Bobby Pickle ended up with his most recent brush with the law? Just curious.

Thanks
-don

Don,

None of the names were familiar to me either.

Will

 

[ridewiththewind]

Legalize and tax is the solution, worked with alcohol and its a far dangerous drug then pot. Problem is the pill companies want to keep pushing and if pot were legalized it would cut into the profits.

Since I live in an area of the country known for it's growing co-ops, I can tell you the roadblock to legalization isn't coming from the pill manufacturers...it's coming from the growers themselves. Once legalized, the market will flood, lowering the demand and the prices, add to that that the growers would be expected to collect and pay all taxes resulting from the sales, not to mention any local municipal taxes...and there is very little, if any, meat left on the bone.

With that said...I agree that legalization is the answer, to not only the 'war on pot', but to filling in the holes resulting from loss of tax revenue elsewhere.

Lisa

 

[washedup]

Legalization is most definately the anwser

I agree 100%. If the government would legalize AND start to sell it cheap it would cut down on many many of societies problems associated wiht drugs.

If the government would do this there would be NO pushers because its about the money. No money NO Pusher w.hich equals some sort of control. Its centralized.

Then and only then could a society move toward helping people with drug addictions.

 

[JustPlay]

Its a good thing that the people on that list are names that nobody reconizes. However it you live in the area of these people, you may want to avoid these people because the police may find you guilty by association!

 

[Johnnyt]

Legalize and tax is the solution, worked with alcohol and its a far dangerous drug then pot. Problem is the pill companies want to keep pushing and if pot were legalized it would cut into the profits.

Right on the money Lenny. Booze kills many more people a year and ruins many more families. Plus, many of these new meds the drug companies are cranking out give some people more problems with the side effects than what they were prescibed for. Johnnyt

 

[cardiac kid]

The wealthy ARE treated differently by our justice system just look at the Hollywood stars when they get busted..

Remember, we have the best legal system in the world. It must be. We have the most lawyers. It's the justice system part that sucks!

Lyn

 

[The Renfro]

At the height of it's power the German courts under the Nazi party was clicking off at about a 90% conviction rate..... Now think about the fact that in the U.S. the rate is around 98%.........

 

[ribdoner]

Sentencing for pot distribution is ambiguous in Tn.

You'd be surprised how lil time some might do, assuming they don't have extensive criminal records.

 

[Ktown D]

I wasn't going to bring this up because it sucks and i wish it hadn't came to this. The allure of making the money they were making just became too much.

I know most people in the ordeal and all of the "pool" people involved. It is a sad situation because at least 2 of the people involved will likely die in prison and I know both of them well. One of the guys is younger than me and hopefully will be able to come out of this down the road and do OK. He is a good guy and just got in over his head because of the money.

Everyone of the guys I know that were involved are not murderers or gangsters or extortionists, they were just guys that got into something that they knew was wrong and are now going to have to pay dearly.

 

[rayjay]

Prohibition has always resulted in illegal wealth, violence, and criminalization of otherwise "normal" citizens. Just look at what's happening in the southern border towns, i.e. thousands of needless murders. Many jails/prisons are now privitized, offering maximum profit for full facilities. State governments and municipalities are going bankrupt. It has been said that 46% of Americans favor legalization of marijuana, but no candidate is taking a stance, pro or con, on this overwhelmingly popular issue. Is there something wrong here?

 

[richiebalto]

I wasn't going to bring this up because it sucks and i wish it hadn't came to this. The allure of making the money they were making just became too much.

I know most people in the ordeal and all of the "pool" people involved. It is a sad situation because at least 2 of the people involved will likely die in prison and I know both of them well. One of the guys is younger than me and hopefully will be able to come out of this down the road and do OK. He is a good guy and just got in over his head because of the money.

Everyone of the guys I know that were involved are not murderers or gangsters or extortionists, they were just guys that got into something that they knew was wrong and are now going to have to pay dearly.

K,iam not making exuses for anyone here,but when reality sits in,how can people go to work nowadays,when working 40 hours u cant bring in enough to pay all of the bills,everything has went up sky high,gas,food ,electric bill,but job wages hasnt,so when u look at it this way,people just mite do things they dont want to do,i know iam not going to sit around an starve,and i dont exspect no one else to either,if 1 doesnt have a heafty bank account,or a great job,mommy and daddy,then 1s r in trouble today.

 

[RunoutJJ]

Its fricking pot already!!!! So tired of this battle of Weed. Just legalize it and then you wont have all these problems that weed has. Money spent on busting farms and distrubators are in the 100 of millions of dollars that the government could use in other areas!! Like cancer research or AIDS. Something worth it!! Its a shame it is the way it is

 

[Ktown D]

Its fricking pot already!!!! So tired of this battle of Weed. Just legalize it and then you wont have all these problems that weed has. Money spent on busting farms and distrubators are in the 100 of millions of dollars that the government could use in other areas!! Like cancer research or AIDS. Something worth it!! Its a shame it is the way it is

Unfortunately, it was a little more than just pot.

 

[ribdoner]

Unfortunately, it was a little more than just pot.

OUCH, that's a game changer...

 

[Tommy-D]

My area just had what might be the biggest outdoor grow operation in Tenn history.

Nearly 500,000 plants,some in process,some still in the ground. The number local law enforcement put on this crop was 432 MILLION dollars. The area was about 10 acres.

Here's the disturbing part about this bust. NO ARRESTS MADE AS OF NOW!

This operation REEKS of cartel activity. No identification of any kind present,and no one on site. One whole barn erected for drying process.

Passable living conditions in underground caves. Cook stoves used for food. Working showers. The same plot of land has produced a similar crop for 3 years now.

The landowners knew NOTHING about it as they are in their 80's and live in Florida,the people leasing the area also knew nothing and had not been to the property in 5 years.

There's never been a pothead in this area this well organized or funded. Tommy D.

 

[Jadssons]

At the present time, selling drugs (including marajuana) in this country is illegal. So, don't do the crime unless you are willing to do the time! They took their chances and got caught. Now, they must pay the price.

 

[richiebalto]

My area just had what might be the biggest outdoor grow operation in Tenn history.

Nearly 500,000 plants,some in process,some still in the ground. The number local law enforcement put on this crop was 432 MILLION dollars. The area was about 10 acres.

the people leasing the area also knew nothing and had not been to the property in 5 years.



How could the police believe these people that leased the land,why would someone pay money to lease land and not show up there in 5years,sounds fishy to me.

 

[Tommy-D]

According to what was printed in the paper here,the family leasing the land was not believed to have been involved. No clue there,but also detect fishiness.

The land is in a spot that is only accessible on foot or 4 wheeler,way out in the boonies,and in an odd spot as far as visibility so it wasn't even found by helicopter until someone reported it while hunting.

The initial report said 362,000 mature plants,after 2 days of ridding it out it jumped to 440k.

Like I said before,this looks a whole lot like a cartel-type operation. Tommy D.

 

[JAM]

OUCH, that's a game changer...

What's important to remember about this is that it was a 2-year investigation. It is not as if somebody was pulled over on the road and got busted. In essence, the conspiracy charges will weigh just as heavily as the actual charges of possession and distribution. Getting indicted on Federal charges is quite different than the State. What frightens me the most about the way these charges read is the RICO statue. And RICO most definitely is a game-changer.

The TV show "Justified" is a modern-day drama about Harlan County, Kentucky. "Justified" portrayal Harlan is an embellishment but is generally well-accepted among Harlan Countians as an entertaining work of fiction. In the series, a local family headed by Mags Bennett (Margo Martindale), who won an Emmy as Best Supporting Actress, oversees a large marijuana business as well as a quaint little country store. The Federal marshals seem to give a wink-wink and a nod-nod to the pot operation in this series.

Jay Leno jokes about people smoking pot on his late night comedy hour as if it's the same as drinking alcohol.

Our society has mixed feelings on pot, but with the growing number of Americans incarcerated, it may rise to the level of the health care crisis when it comes to cost. Do you know how much it costs to house an inmate?

The prison industry complex is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States. They even have investors on Wall Street. It is a multimillion-dollar industry.

The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world. One in every 100 Americans is in jail. It would be interesting to learn how many are in jail for marijuana.