Couple Charged With Growing, Selling Pot

A Vernon County couple made their initial appearance Friday in federal court in Madison for running what officials called one of the largest indoor marijuana-growing operations in the state.

Gary R. Roth, 40, and his wife, Dawn M. Roth, 42, were charged with unlawful manufacturing of marijuana after a two-month investigation that resulted in federal authorities seizing more than 4,200 marijuana plants from their farm south of Viroqua, said Jim Haney, a spokesman for Attorney General James Doyle.

Federal agents executed the search warrant Thursday at the couple's farm and seized enough marijuana plants to fill a semitrailer truck, according to the criminal complaint.

"Agents found over 4,200 live marijuana plants in various stages of growth," the complaint says. "Agents also found several pounds of harvested marijuana in different stages of processing."

The complaint says the marijuana plants were found in several rooms in the house. Authorities also found potting soil and fertilizers and other chemicals associated with the indoor growing of marijuana.

"This was a very large operation," Haney said. He added that the attorney general's office "will not rule out the possibility of more arrests" in the case.

According to the complaint, Gary Roth admitted to authorities that he had been running the marijuana farm since 1992 and said he would sell a pound of marijuana for $2,800 and produced about 8 pounds every two weeks.

Dawn Roth confessed that she knew about her husband's operation since 1994 and that she had been helping him with his work since January this year, the complaint says. She also said her husband paid her in cash for her work in the operation, according to the complaint.

Gary Roth told authorities he kept hogs on his farm to provide a cover for the operation and to use the scent from the animals to cover the smell of the growing marijuana, the complaint says.

The investigation was started in September when the couple's business was brought to the attention of the state Department of Justice's Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Haney said.

Several other agencies helped in the investigation, including the Vernon County Sheriff's Department, the U.S. attorney's office, the Internal Revenue Service, the FBI, the West Central Drug Enforcement Group, the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshal's Service.

"This case is a fine example of cooperation among state, local and federal law enforcement agencies to combat drug trafficking in Wisconsin," Doyle said in a statement.

If convicted, the Roths can face anywhere from 10 years in prison to life, according to the attorney general's office. The Roths, who are being held in temporary detention, will be arraigned Monday, Haney said.

Copyright 1998, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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