NASHUA GARBAGE MEN SNIFF OUT MARIJUANA

NASHUA - An alleged marijuana wholesaler was caught with 160 pounds of pot
and $182,881 after city dump truck drivers sniffed something suspicious in
the trash.

The sickly sweet smell of marijuana on six trash bags led two Nashua public
works employees to search through their smelly load, where they discovered
piles of plastic wrap covered in marijuana residue. The two called their
supervisor and the Nashua police to report their suspicions Monday.

Just a few hours later, police searched the home of Steven P. Montbleau,
31, at 2 Skyline Drive, where the trash allegedly originated. Police said
they confiscated 160 pounds of marijuana from his basement, which was set
up as a packing and distribution center with the marijuana in 9-pound
blocks and in one-pound baggies.

Police said they found the $182,881 in a blue cooler hidden in Montbleau's
bedroom closet. The money was wrapped neatly with rubber bands in stacks of
$1,000.

Montbleau was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled drug with
the intent to sell. Police said they also confiscated four pills of
Ecstasy, and they plan to present the evidence to a grand jury for
indictment. Montbleau, who faces up to 20 years in jail and a $200,000 fine
if convicted, is being held in Valley Street jail in Manchester in lieu of
$250,000 cash bail.

"This is good-sized. We haven't had a drug bust this big in 10 years," said
Nashua Detective Lt. Bruce E. Hansen. "He's high up the ladder. He has
significant connections."

Nashua police charged Montbleau with possession of 20 pounds of marijuana
in 1994, but that charge was dropped when his case was turned over to
Massachusetts authorities. Montbleau's record in Massachusetts was not
available last night.

Hansen said the department was fortunate to get the case. "We've worked a
lot harder for just a gram of cocaine," he said.

Police stacked the marijuana in the police department's sally port - where
cruisers usually park - because the smell was too strong for the evidence
room. The smell of marijuana permeated the holding cell block area nearby.

Police did not release the names of the public works employees to protect
them. The dump truck driver, who attended a news conference yesterday,
said, "I just wanted to get everything off the street. We usually just find
a lot of needles and ammunition. This was the first time for this."