Times Herald-Record
Posted: July 21, 2009 - 2:00 AM
CITY OF NEWBURGH — City police and a federal agent swooped in on two apartments Monday afternoon, arrested three people and confiscated the most marijuana any of them had ever seen in Newburgh.
They laid the drugs on a table in the police station — 46 pounds all together. Two long, rectangular blocks weighed 16 pounds each. A third block, shaped like a giant cube, weighed 20 pounds. The smell filled the first floor of the building. At an estimated street value of $1,200-$1,500 a pound, police said, the stash would have sold for $55,200-$69,000.
"Biggest since I've been chief," Newburgh police Chief Eric Paolilli said. "That's a lot."
It arrived by Priority Mail. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service — the federal law enforcement agency that polices the nation's postal system — had tracked the packages from California as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation, said James Buthorn, a case agent based out of Manhattan. The blocks were covered with dish detergent and dryer sheets to mask the smell and then wrapped tightly in green cellophane. By the time the boxes arrived in Newburgh, police were waiting with what are called "anticipatory warrants" to arrest the recipients and confiscate the drugs.
Police arrested three Newburgh-area residents on felony charges of criminal possession of marijuana. At 308 Lake St., they arrested 22-year-old Evan Gonzalez of Crown Boulevard and 19-year-old Dwayne Cobbs of Leslie Drive. At 222 Lake Dr., police arrested the resident, 56-year-old Elovistine Smith. All three were held in city lockup pending arraignment. The investigation is continuing.
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