Owners of Chuck Laverty & Son plumbing in Millbury laundered drug money while growing $6 million in marijuana – MassLive.com

The owners of Chuck Laverty & Son Inc., a family-owned plumbing company in Millbury, were found guilty of drug and money laundering charges by a federal jury.

The charges were filed against the family after authorities discovered $6 million in marijuana inside a Clinton warehouse in 2017.

Thomas Laverty, 39, of Clinton and Charles Laverty, 63, of Millbury, were each convicted following a five-day trial of conspiring to cultivate more than 100 marijuana plants, conspiracy to launder money and cultivating marijuana and possessing marijuana with intent to distribute.

Both will be sentenced on May 19, 2020.

Charles Lavertys wife, Andrea Laverty, 63, of Millbury, pleaded guilty earlier this month to conspiring to cultivate marijuana and conspiring to launder money. She is scheduled to be sentenced on April 9, 2020.

Authorities said the family used the business as a front for a large-scale marijuana operation.

Every week, numerous Laverty & Son workers harvested 20 marijuana plants from the commercial warehouse, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Workers then brought the harvested crop to the residence of Charles and Andrea Laverty to be dried, with a goal of producing 8 to 10 pounds of dried marijuana per week. The dried marijuana was sold by Charles Laverty in large quantities for approximately $2,400 per pound.

Authorities executed a search warrant at a warehouse in Clinton on Oct. 17, 2017, which was attached to Thomas Lavertys residence, and the Millbury home of Charles and Andrea Laverty.

Agents discovered the grow-house in Clinton, a grow-operation in Millbury and marijuana plants. The amount of marijuana discovered in the Clinton warehouse was worth about $6 million, authorities said.

Authorities said there was a sophisticated grow operation in the Clinton warehouse with air-circulating machines, irrigation systems, plant food, indoor plant lighting and roughly 1,029 marijuana plants.

Thomas Laverty also faces a charge of theft of government funds in connection to allegations he received SNAP benefits while concealing the money he earned from the marijuana business.

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Owners of Chuck Laverty & Son plumbing in Millbury laundered drug money while growing $6 million in marijuana - MassLive.com