Feds seek 1 year in prison for multi-state pot broker
Jan. 28—Federal prosecutors will seek a prison sentence of one year and one day for a man who coordinated regular deliveries of illicit marijuana from Southern Oregon across the country, and managed an unlicensed Josephine County grow where feds seized more than $1.6 million.
John A. Magliana III, 35, is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Medford on a charge of manufacturing marijuana. Magliana pleaded guilty in October, admitting that he orchestrated shipments of marijuana from a grow he managed in the 600 block of Deer Creek Road in Selma and for other growers.
At a Sept. 18, 2018, raid on the Selma grow, Homeland Security Investigations agents and Oregon State Police found $1,674,047 belonging to Magliana in a safe, along with 31 pounds of butane honey oil, about five pounds of processed marijuana, 21 firearms and a ballistic vest and helmet.
Following the raid, investigators continued making traffic stops and searches between Southern Oregon and northern Indiana that pointed investigators to Magliana.
At one stop from Indiana en route to Oregon, investigators found more than half a million dollars cash, and another stop involved a shipment of more than 380 pounds of marijuana linked to Magliana.
In July 2020, feds raided the property of Magliana's alleged buyer, Lowell Kortas of Mishawaka, Indiana. Kortas allegedly told investigators he paid Magliana roughly $200,000 per month for a shipment that included 40 pounds of pot and 2,000 THC vape cartridges.
District court records in Oregon and Indiana show no criminal charges for Kortas.
After the raid, Kortas cooperated with law enforcement for a sting operation that resulted in Magliana's arrest at a Medford Motel 6, where he was in possession of 9,838 THC-filled vape cartridges.
Magliana reportedly drove to the Los Angeles area for the THC cartridges, which had a street value of roughly $80,000.
Magliana pleaded guilty to the manufacturing marijuana charge Oct. 25. The crime carries a maximum 20 years in prison, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Delph will seek a sentence of one year and one day as terms of a negotiated plea agreement.
According to a sentencing brief Delph filed Wednesday, reasons for the lenient recommendation include Magliana's "lack of criminal history and money laundering activities," and his "success on pretrial release."
Delph, however, argues that the crime is severe enough that Magliana should serve some time in custody.
"The illegal manufacture and out-of-state diversion of marijuana is still a significant problem facing communities in Southern Oregon," Delph wrote. "Magliana contributed to this ongoing problem and even risked violence with the possession of 21 firearms (and over $1 million in cash) on a marijuana grow site."
Reach web editor Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or nmorgan@rosebudmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MTwebeditor.
