A Rangeley man faces potentially years in prison and substantial fines after a federal jury Tuesday found him guilty on all eight charges related to what federal prosecutors say was a large, illicit marijuana grow and distribution operation in Franklin County.
The jury found Lucas Sirois, 45, guilty on felony charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, as well as six other charges related to his operation.
Jurors also found Sirois’ father, Robert Sirois, 71, of Farmington, guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and acquitted him of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
The jury began deliberation following closing arguments on Tuesday after a four-day trial at U.S. District Court in Bangor.
Robert Sirois was convicted in 2010 of marijuana trafficking and marijuana cultivation in Franklin County Superior Court in Farmington, before marijuana became legal in Maine.
The older Sirois is not subject to a mandatory minimum sentence, Andrew Lizotte, assistant U.S. attorney, wrote in an email. He will be sentenced by the court after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, he wrote.
Prosecutors said that from at least 2016 through July 2020, Lucas Sirois ran a cultivation and distribution operation producing well in excess of 17,000 pounds of marijuana from just one of several industrial grow locations.
One defendant in the case who testified at the trial said he purchased more than 30 pounds a week of marijuana from Lucas Sirois for a three-year period and distributed it to drug dealers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Federal and state drug enforcers began an investigation into the Sirois’ operation prior to July 21, 2020. On that day, dozens of law enforcement agents converged on Narrow Gauge Distributors, a medical marijuana cultivation business housed in a former shoe factory on High Street in Farmington.
State and federal agents also went to other sites in Farmington and parts of Franklin County where Lucas Sirois had related businesses. Agents seized boxes of records from several locations and loaded them into U-Haul-style vehicles.
Authorities could be seen cutting large marijuana plants, throwing them out the door of the shoe shop and into a large multi-binned dumpster.
They also seized thousands of dollars in cash and firearms throughout the county and beyond.
About a year later 13 suspects in the case were charged by the U.S. Attorneys Office with drug violations, and several individuals were also charged with bank and tax fraud. Eight have pleaded guilty to federal crimes and await sentencing for their roles in the operation. One was convicted of tampering with documents and given two years probation and a $2,000 fine.
Those implicated included two former Franklin County deputies, a state prosecutor, local businessmen and a tax preparer. Two former law enforcement officers from Oxford County and the town of Wilton had their cases dismissed.
Lucas Sirois faces between 10 years and up to life in prison on the two felony charges. A conviction on either of them carries a maximum $10 million in fines or both prison time and a fine.
The younger Sirois was also found guilty of felony bank fraud and two charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and impede and impair the Internal Revenue Services, and tax evasion. The penalty for each of those charges range from not more than five years in prison to a maximum 30 years and fines of $100,000 to $250,000, or both imprisonment and fines.
He was also found guilty of three counts of maintaining drug-involved premises in Farmington and Avon.
Lucas Sirois remains in federal custody after his arrest Oct. 31 for allegedly violating bail conditions related to the marijuana charges.
Following the verdict Tuesday, Eric Postow, an attorney for Sirois, denounced the decision.
“What the jury convicted the Sirois(es) of was for being a licensed and regulated medical marijuana business in a state that legalized and sanctioned their conduct. It was not about a sprawling criminal enterprise of illicit conduct, all of the evidence simply showed what they were licensed to do. From grow rooms, to distribution, the state of Maine was complicit in their conduct from seed to sale.”
A statement released Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office refuted that Sirois’ operations were sanctioned by the state.
“Trial proceeded in this case only after a lengthy evidentiary hearing on the defendants’ motion to enjoin the prosecution and subsequent litigation, including interlocutory review by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. In the context of that litigation, the district court found, and the court of appeals affirmed, that the Sirois defendants had been unable to establish that they complied with Maine’s medical marijuana regime in force during the conspiracy period.”
It was unclear Wednesday if Sirois will appeal the verdict.
