FOUR CONVICTED OF POT CHARGES

Four members of one of the largest illegal marijuana rings in the Bay Area
have pleaded no contest in a San Jose court to cultivation charges that
could send the ringleader to prison for years.

Mi Suk Edberg's trafficking organization is considered by authorities to
have been a major supplier of top quality marijuana in the region,
producing as much as $25 million worth of pot in the past five years.

"This was the most sophisticated marijuana operation in the county, if not
in the Bay Area," said Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Rob
Baker. "Bringing down the Edberg organization put a tremendous dent in
marijuana distribution in Santa Clara County."

Authorities say Edberg cultivated marijuana by gutting the interiors of
rented single-family homes and converting them into giant marijuana
greenhouses in Santa Clara, El Dorado and Butte counties.

At a pretrial hearing in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Monday,
Edberg, 58, and her boyfriend, Kwang Sik Ho, 48, pleaded no contest to
charges of conspiracy to sell and cultivate marijuana, possession of
marijuana with intent to sell, vandalism and theft of electricity services.
She faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced next month, while Ho will
receive four years in prison under a negotiated plea.

Two other associates also entered pleas. Jin Soo Chang, 48, pleaded no
contest to conspiracy to sell and cultivate marijuana, and Su Nan Kim, 42,
pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of being an accessory after the
fact to the cultivation of marijuana.

Chang's attorney said that her client's involvement was very limited and
that he was unaware of the extent of the distribution ring.

"He was naive," said attorney Elissa Eckman. "Still, to prosecute people so
heavily for marijuana seems old-fashioned; it's not methamphetamine or
heroin."

Attorneys for Edberg and Ho could not be reached for comment.

Before Edberg's arrest last May, she had evaded authorities for more than
three years.

Authorities first learned of Edberg in 1996 when they discovered a home in
Sunnyvale where she had been cultivating marijuana, Baker said. In 1997,
authorities also found a storage locker in San Jose containing 13 pounds of
marijuana, jewelry and $18,000 in cash.

Last year, a $60,000 fire, caused by faulty wiring, broke out in a house on
Hyde Street in San Jose, a structure that prosecutors say Edberg had
converted into a greenhouse to grow 1,600 plants. She also operated a
marijuana greenhouse in Santa Clara, where she grew 1,800 plants. Each
location was capable of reaping at least $1 million a year.

Meanwhile, Edberg - who authorities say used various aliases and had
undergone plastic surgery to disguise herself - was nowhere to be found.
She was finally captured in May following a tip from a member of the Korean
community.

Detectives had placed an ad in Korean-language newspapers seeking her
whereabouts, and a call from a reader led them to her.

She kept her operation running by enlisting family members. Many of the
ring's members had immigrated to the United States in the 1970s from South
Korea.

At the time of Edberg's arrest, authorities seized hundreds of pounds of
marijuana, $250,000 in cash, jewelry and furs.

Contact Sandra Gonzales at sgonzales@sjmercury.com or (408) 295-3983.