Montgomery Vermont Man Sentenced in Cross-Border Marijuana Trafficking Conspiracy

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont has stated that Roy “Opie” McAllister II, 39, of Montgomery, Vermont has been sentenced to prison for his role in a cross-border marijuana trafficking conspiracy. In September 2014, McAllister was convicted of two counts of tax filing false tax returns following a jury trial. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the marijuana conspiracy charge and the Court declared a mistrial. A retrial was scheduled for December 2014. On November 24, 2014, before the retrial against McAllister on marijuana trafficking charges, McAllister pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

McAllister has been ordered to serve 30 months in jail on each count of conviction, with the time periods to run concurrently. McAllister has also been ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and to serve three years of supervised release following his jail sentence. As a condition of his supervised release, McAllister has been ordered to file corrected tax returns and pay taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service. McAllister will begin serving his jail sentence in April 2015.

McAllister, and his co-conspirator, Jeffrey Donna, have been described as kingpins in a marijuana trafficking business that began in the mid-2000s and continued until the two were arrested on May 29, 2013. The two defendants were responsible for bringing bulk quantities of marijuana across the Canadian border into northern Vermont for several years. According to the evidence of record, McAllister was responsible for between 1,000 and 3,000 kilograms of marijuana as part of the conspiracy. The marijuana trafficking has been characterized as a forprofit enterprise, in which McAllister made lavish expenditures using drug proceeds.

McAllister has been ordered to forfeit a home heating oil delivery truck used by McAllister Fuels, 115 Troy Street, Montgomery, Vermont, which the government alleged was bought with McAllister’s drug proceeds. He has also been ordered to forfeit more than 30 guns, two Harley Davidson motorcycles, a Polaris ATV, a Chevy Tahoe, a Ford F-150 Harley Davidson edition pick-up truck, a GMC Yukon and expensive jewelry purchased during the time of the conspiracy. A forfeiture action against his residence of 2404 Regan Road, Montgomery, Vermont, is pending.

As part of the marijuana trafficking conspiracy, McAllister and Donna were assisted by Jesse Soule, 48, also of Montgomery, Vermont. Soule was convicted in January 2014 of his role in the marijuana trafficking conspiracy. According to court records, Soule participated in the conspiracy by storing bulk marijuana on his farm. Soule is currently in jail serving a 13 month sentence. He has forfeited $250,000 in drug proceeds to the government and a Polaris ATV. Kirt Westcom, 48, of Fairfield, Vermont, also has been convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. He received bulk marijuana from Donna and McAllister at his farm on 262 Egypt Road, Fairfield, Vermont for several years. Westcom is currently in jail serving a 24 month sentence. Westcom has forfeited $135,000 to the government, as well as a Harley Davidson motorcycle, and a Ford F-350 pick-up truck.

Seven other individuals have pleaded guilty to federal crimes arising out of this drug enforcement action in Franklin County, Vermont. They are Jeffrey Baisley, 32, of Richford, Vermont, Jeffrey Tatro, Jr., 28, of Richford, Vermont, Robert Patterson, 55, of Richford, Vermont, Jonathan Palermo, 29, of Essex, Vermont, and Benjamin Pratt, 32, of Colchester, Vermont, who all have been convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Eric Jette, 32, of Enosburg, Vermont and Johnthan Aldrich, 34, of Richford, Vermont also have been convicted of federal drug charges.

The United States Attorney’s Office would like to thank the United States Border Patrol, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their work in conducting this investigation. This investigation was also assisted by the United States Internal Revenue Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Ross. Roy McAllister II was represented by Peter Langrock, Langrock Sperry & Wool.