'CHIEF' GRASS GROWER ADMITS HE'S GUILTY

A man known as the "Chief" gardener at the centre of Canada's biggest indoor
pot operation pleaded guilty yesterday to charges in connection to the
mammoth marijuana growhouse that operated out of the former Molson brewery
in Barrie last winter.

Michael DiCicco, 61, of Toronto pleaded guilty in Barrie court to one
count of production and one count of possession of marijuana for the
purpose of trafficking. That charge carries a maximum penalty of life
in prison, although sentences over two years are rarely handed out by
judges in grow-operation cases.

Last January, hundreds of police officers raided the former beer
plant, where they found a sophisticated multimillion-dollar pot
operation that employed gardeners who lived inside hidden quarters and
worked around-the-clock to crank out crops that netted $100 million a
year. It was the largest such operation in Canada.

Dressed in a black suit and tie, DiCicco, nicknamed "Chief" by others
in the operation, pleaded guilty after the charges were read to him.

In court, Crown attorney Karen Jokinen went through an elaborate
presentation that revealed the inner workings of the operation that
filled two separate warehouses and encompassed 55,000 square feet.

The operation utilized highly specialized electricians and
tradespeople who installed lighting, air conditioning and stolen
generators to grow thousands of plants as thick as hedges.

Giant charcoal filters were used to muffle the staggering smell from
the massive jungle-like rooms that went undetected in the former beer
plant for at least two years.

Workers who never left and worked 24-hour-shifts, lived behind hidden
walls in self-contained quarters with bedrooms, bathrooms, a
fully-stocked kitchen, and common dormitories with televisions, video
games and stereos.

Secret cameras were hooked up to the stereo speakers so the workers
could be monitored at all times.

A list of rules posted on one wall stated "the boss is never wrong"
and "mistakes cost $100" and "you turn it, you earn it."

OPP Det. Staff Sgt. Rick Barnum testified that he believed the
marijuana was destined for the United States either for sale or in
trade for weapons and cocaine.

He said grow operations hardly ever exist in the U.S because of stiff
prison sentences for anyone who gets caught, compared to relatively
light sentences in Canada.

"It's really not a good idea to produce marijuana in the U.S.," said
Barnum in the witness box. "It is grown relatively risk-free in Canada
and almost always makes its way south."

He said one OPP undercover study showed that about 2,000 growhouses
operated in all of the U.S., compared to 15,000 to 25,000 such
operations in the Greater Toronto area alone.

The two warehouses inside the 140,000-square-foot former Molson plant
were leased by two businesses under the names of National Pallet and
Barrie Good Fish, which police now say were nothing more than fronts.

The building itself is owned by Fercan Developments, which is
controlled by a man named Vince DeRosa and managed by his brother,
Robert DeRosa.

Police have been unable to establish any ties between the DeRosa
brothers and the grow operation.

There is a non-communication order between DiCicco and the
DeRosas.

Police won't say what tipped them off to the operation.

About 150 police officers swarmed the plant in the dead of night last
Jan. 10, where they were stunned by the magnitude of the operation.

Eight other so-called "gardeners" were also arrested on siite. Their
cases are expected to be dealt with Nov. 29 when DiCicco will be sentenced.

"There is no doubt that this is a part of a sophisticated organized
crime operation that stretches out of the country," said Det. Sgt.
James Ciotka, lead investigator with the Huronia Combined Forces Drug
Unit.

But, to date, he admits police have not been able to net the brains
behind the operation.