By Judy Harrison
Bangor Daily News
BANGOR, Maine — A Canadian man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to smuggling and distributing more than a ton of marijuana from the fall of 2005 until at least March 2007.
A sentencing date for Andre Picard, 49, of Riceville, New Brunswick, has not been set.
Picard has been held without bail since his arrest April 1 in Madawaska.
He pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to import marijuana, conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana.
By pleading guilty, Picard admitted that he brought the marijuana across the border himself in a hidden compartment in his tractor-trailer. At least four people, identified in court documents only as cooperating defendants and witnesses, told police they had taken the marijuana out of state for him.
Picard faces a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in federal prison. He also could be ordered to pay a fine of up to $4 million and to forfeit property and assets obtained with money earned from drug smuggling.
In his plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Picard agreed to waive his right to appeal the sentence to the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston if he is sentenced to 10 years or less.
Copyright 2010 Bangor Daily News