Marijuana farmer sent to prison for trying to bribe former Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey
A Siskiyou County man was sentenced Tuesday to nearly six years in prison on marijuana growing charges and for attempting to bribe former Sheriff Jon Lopey.
Chi Meng Yang, 36, of Montague, and his sister, Gaosheng Laitinen, 41, of St. Paul, Minnesota, were sentenced Tuesday in connection to a bribery scheme aimed at "protecting" illicit marijuana grows in Siskiyou County from law enforcement, according to U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert.
Yang was sentenced to five years and 11 months in prison. Laitinen was sentenced to time-served and a $50,000 fine.
In March of this year, a federal jury convicted Yang of attempting to bribe Lopey, conspiracy to commit bribery and manufacturing more than 100 marijuana plants.
Shortly before the trial, Laitinen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to manufacture marijuana.
The attempted bribery happened during a series of meetings between Yang and Lopey, starting in May 2017, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
Yang offered to make a series of payments to Lopey, including money for a charity, for his re-election campaign and in cash payments, according to the attorney's office.
It started with Yang offering to give the sheriff $1 million toward the charity of his choice, in exchange for Lopey's friendship and his help lobbying to legalize medical marijuana in Missouri, officials said.
Unsure what he meant by "friendship," Lopey called the FBI to join in an investigation.
Yang told the sheriff he was growing marijuana on 10 plots of land owned by members of his family, despite a county ordinance banning outdoor pot growing, officials said.
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Yang offered to pay Lopey $5,000 per parcel for "protection" and another $5,000 per parcel as donations to the sheriff's re-election campaign, officials said.
Yang told the sheriff he wanted “no enforcement” on the properties or the two water trucks that he used to water the marijuana grows, officials said.
The FBI recorded numerous telephone conversations and conducted video recordings between Lopey and Yang, officials said. Yang also met with Lopey in-person seven times.
Yang and Laitinen gave the sheriff a list of eight properties and provided Lopey with $8,000 in cash for each of the eight properties. The FBI recorded the transactions on video, officials said.
Catch up: Man convicted after attempting to bribe Siskiyou County sheriff $1M over illegal marijuana
Yang also asked the sheriff to issue violation notices to other growers in the area so they would join the protection racket, officials said. He also wanted Lopey to "go out there and take care of it" with a rival marijuana grower, officials said.
He also asked if Lopey could prevent the California Highway Patrol from enforcing the law against his water trucks. He also "asked for the sheriff’s help concerning a family member’s DUI arrest," officials said.
Yang was eventually arrested during a meeting on Aug. 31, 2017, at Lopey's office. After Yang's arrest, state and federal agents raided the eight "protected" properties and eradicated 1,168 plants found in the search, officials said.
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Damon Arthur is the Record Searchlight’s resources and environment reporter. He is part of a team of journalists who investigate wrongdoing and find the unheard voices to tell the stories of the North State. He welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834 by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Siskiyou man sent to prison for trying to bribe former county sheriff
