FORMER EXECUTIVE PLEADS IN POT CASE

The U. Makefield man and his friend were spared jail because the judge
believed they didn't sell their crop.

With teary eyes, the former president of one of the nation's largest
medical-malpractice insurers pleaded guilty yesterday in Bucks County Court
to growing a large amount of marijuana in an elaborately outfitted
hydroponic garden in his attic.

Daniel Goldberg, 52, of Upper Makefield Township, was sentenced to one year
of probation by Common Pleas Court Judge Kenneth G. Biehn. He also must
forfeit half the equity in his $350,000 house.

"I will take into consideration the fact you were not selling marijuana and
no children were involved," Biehn said before sentencing.

Biehn said he believed the 25 potted, three-foot-tall marijuana plants,
grown in a technologically sophisticated room, were intended only for
Goldberg and his live-in companion, Edward F. Wiest, 29.

"This was for personal use, and my sentence will be less severe than it
otherwise would be," the judge said. ". . . It is a crime to do what you
did. You have paid, and will pay, enormous consequences."

Goldberg - short, wiry, with thinning gray hair - and Wiest - tall and blond
- - pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug
paraphernalia, and conspiracy.

Wiest, who said he was Goldberg's groundskeeper and chauffeur, also was
given one year's probation.

A more serious charge against both men, of manufacturing a controlled
substance with intent to deliver, was dropped by Senior Deputy District
Attorney Matthew Weintraub in a plea agreement with Goldberg and Wiest. They
could have received at least three years in prison on that charge.

Wiest had told police he and Goldberg were "potheads" who did not want to
buy marijuana on the streets from "riffraff." Both declined to comment after
the sentencing yesterday.

Goldberg was president and chief executive officer of the MIIX Group Inc.,
of Lawrenceville, N.J., and earned more than $1 million in salary, bonuses
and other compensation in 1998. The MIIX Group is the country's
eighth-largest medical-malpractice insurer, said Michele Parisano, its vice
president of investor relations.

Goldberg was fired on Nov. 9, three days after police raided his home.

Goldberg's attorney, Albert Cepparulo, said Goldberg and Wiest had been
unable to find jobs in the area and were planning to move to the West Coast.
He said Wiest used marijuana for a medical problem, but Cepparulo declined
to say what that was.

Police said they were led to the house by two men who were arrested in
Bensalem Township on Nov. 5 on drug-possession charges. The men told police
that they were installing tile in the house and smelled marijuana burning,
then explored and found the attic stash.

But Cepparulo and Wiest's attorney, William L. Goldman, contended that the
two men who alerted police were burglars who had broken into Goldberg's home
shortly before the police raid. Cepparulo said the two had not been
prosecuted in either offense.

Weintraub said that case was still being investigated.

Goldman said Goldberg and Wiest already had been severely punished. "They
were the victims of a burglary, were incredibly embarrassed by the media,
and Goldberg had his home sought by the D.A., and he lost his job."

But the attorneys said they were pleased with Biehn's sentence.

Chief Deputy District Attorney T. Gary Gambardella said he had filed a
forfeiture petition on Goldberg's home, but had agreed to settle for 50
percent of his equity.