CANADIAN POT SMUGGLERS MAKE PLEA BARGAIN IN U.S. COURT

A former Telus marketing director and three Vancouver associates who
snowshoed across the border with pot-filled backpacks have struck plea
bargains with U.S. authorities.

U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman accepted a guilty plea from
marketing whiz Chris Neary in a Seattle courtroom Tuesday.

Neary admitted that he conspired to distribute less than 50 kilograms
of marijuana in Washington state in April -a lesser quantity of B.C.
bud than was laid out in the original charge against him.

A sentencing hearing will be held on Sept. 24 at 2:30 p.m., U.S. court
documents state.

And three others who trekked though Snoqualmie National Forest, near
Glacier, Washington, with Neary last April 26 have also pleaded guilty
to the lesser charge of conspiring to distribute under 50 kilograms of
pot.

Their sentencing dates are not yet fixed.

The lesser count carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail, a
fine of up to $250,000 and two years of supervised release.

Also pleading guilty is Daryl Fontana, a Duncan businessman who
claimed he was short on cash when he was arrested with Neary. Both
told U.S. agents they were to be paid $10,000 each for their efforts.

Two other Vancouver men involved in the plot, Carl Theissen and Sinisa
Gavric, have also signed plea agreements with the U.S. Attorney on the
same drug count. Theissen's plea deal includes an additional count of
money laundering.

A fifth man, Richard Bafaro, also of Vancouver, is still scheduled to
go to trial on Oct. 4, according to court documents.

The plea bargains signed by Neary and the others do not contain a
specific agreed-to prison term.

But the U.S. Attorney says Neary played a "minor role" in the
conspiracy and is recommending he get less than the maximum sentence
because the "defendant has assisted the United States by timely
notifying the authorities of his intention to plead guilty, thereby
permitting the United States to avoid preparing for trial."

"The defendant understands, however, that at the time of sentencing,
the court is free to reject these stipulated adjustments, and is
further free to apply additional downward or upward adjustments in
determining defendant's sentencing guidelines range," the agreement
says.

The agreed statement of facts says that U.S. Immigration and Customs
agents were "conducting surveillance in the area of Mount Baker and
the Snoqualmie National Forest, near Glacier, Washington, where agents
observed snowshoe tracks that crossed the international border."

"This is an area known to federal agents as a route used by
individuals smuggling contraband and illegal aliens between Canada and
the United States."

Neary admits he and Fontana were "hiding in the woods," the documents
say.

"Agents also found four sets of snowshoes and four backpacks
containing a total of 49.28 kilograms of marijuana," the plea
agreements say.

It also said Neary admitted that another person had driven them to the
border.