Check It Out

yeah this is a link of a story my friend had jus sent me.......geez what a bunch of fuckin squares in florida cant even make pipes or nothing.......im sorry but people are gonna find millions of ways around this and this is jus gonna waste more and more and more and more and more money......idiots





Pipe maker sentenced on federal paraphernalia pleas

The Associated Press


A Florida pipe manufacturer has been sentenced to 14 months in federal prison as authorities crack down on the drug paraphernalia business.

Chrisjon Michael Hill, 30, of Sarasota, Fla., was sentenced Friday for conspiring to sell or distribute drug paraphernalia and the actual sale of drug paraphernalia, Acting U.S. Attorney Inga Bumbary-Langston said Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Ronald E. Longstaff also ordered that Hill Industries USA Inc., a business owned and operated by Hill, be placed on probation for five years and pay a fine of $500,000.

On March 29, Hill and Hill Industries entered guilty pleas to the charges.

"This investigation we feel strongly about because we think it makes a difference for the kids here in Iowa. If we can take this paraphernalia off the streets, maybe they won't become involved in the drug culture," Mark Hein, agent-in-charge with the Drug Enforcement Administration, said at the time of the plea.

In a plea agreement, Hill stipulated that between 1993 and 2001, he manufactured, sold and conspired with others to sell drug paraphernalia.

Hill admitted selling various pipes to retail drug paraphernalia stores throughout the United States, including customers in Iowa. Hill stipulated that he knew many of his products would be used to smoke marijuana.

Authorities said Hill's Florida-based business made millions selling a wide variety of drug pipes and bongs to so-called "head shops" across the country.

Hill could have faced up to three years on each count.

As a part of the agreement, Hill and Hill Industries agreed to forfeit all drug paraphernalia items and all equipment used to manufacture drug paraphernalia located at the Sarasota, Fla., business. He also agreed to forfeit $30,000, which represents his equity in the business property in Sarasota.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

Hill's pipes were found when federal agents raided head shops in Des Moines, Ames and Iowa City.

"We were working with the Polk County sheriff's office and U.S. Postal Service when this all came about, and we felt that these head shops were targeting the colleges here in Iowa," Hein said.

"We served search warrants on those places ... we then found out that Chris Hill was supplying a couple of these shops and so we just traced it right back down to Florida," he said. "Our job is to try to keep that stuff from coming into Iowa."

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On the Net: Drug Enforcement Administration: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/




http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/p...=APN&ArtNo=208210581&Ref=AR&SectionCat=NEWS02