Posted on 04/19/2015 4:07:37 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
A Whitefish Bay man was sentenced to nine years in federal prison Friday for running a large-scale marijuana distribution ring through his three North Shore McDonald's restaurants.
Prosecutors say Edward G. Patterson, 40, recruited his employees and a fellow Little League dad into the conspiracy, carried a gun and, once in jail, tried to hire someone to murder informants who helped agents make the case against him.
According to court records, he had started at the bottom of the McDonald's career ladder, worked his way up in the family business from laborer to manager and eventually took an ownership stake in stores in Glendale, Fox Point and Mequon.
But by 2012, he used them like a line of credit. He took money from the restaurants to buy large amounts of marijuana from California, for resale in Wisconsin, and then laundered the illicit profits back through McDonald's accounts, "in effect providing himself a short term loan," according to his lawyer's sentencing memo.
Patterson told at least one co-conspirator that he was selling marijuana to get enough money to buy the Glendale McDonald's outright, and that he was hoping to make $2 million in the pot trade because, "When they legalize it, it's all over."
Shortly after a local, state and federal task force busted the ring in 2013, the three restaurants were sold, and as part of his plea agreement, the government got $925,000 and Patterson's parents, who owned other McDonald's and a 49% stake in two of their son's businesses, got $1.1 million. Patterson gets nothing.
(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...
FTA:
According to court records, Patterson and McDonald’s workers he recruited drove marijuana back from California until Patterson was arrested in Nevada in 2012 with 32 pounds of marijuana in his car.
Then the operation moved to the U.S. mail, and Patterson sent packages with small amounts of pot to various addresses around the Milwaukee area, some 30 to 60 pounds a month, in at least 35 mailings in 2012 and 2013. Patterson paid people about $600 each just to receive the packages, which another co-conspirator would pick and deliver to Patterson.
Money was sent back to California by mail. In all, prosecutors say, Patterson moved between 200 and 800 pounds of marijuana.
Several other people, including the California supplier, were also charged. At the time of the arrests, authorities executed 15 search warrants and recovered several pounds of high-grade marijuana, 11 firearms and about $90,000 in cash.
Numerous residences were used to store, package and prepare the marijuana for distribution, and Patterson also possessed and attempted to distribute a mixture of oxycodone and methadone, according to the indictment.
9 years seems like an awfully light sentence, considering the murder for hire aspect and the other drugs and the recruiting of employees. Doesn’t say if they were under 18.
Too bad it wasn’t porn with the hambuggerer.
Doesn’t say if they were under 18.
************
My guess is they weren’t under 18. McDs has a lot of
employees well over 18.
Maybe they have their own side businesses
Walter White knew a car wash works better.
Well, 40 years ago, I would have been happy to use these Mickey D’s.
He’s not loving it...
♫ "The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay if they'd put 15 more miles behind her..."♫
“Would you like to biggie-size that, sir?”
“Yeah, go ahead and give me two ounces instead of one.”
The other Happy Meal.
Bear this in mind: An average McDonalds franchise is worth $3.5 million. Ed Patterson’s father received $1.1 million in the forced sale of all three.
The elder Patterson worked hard his whole life to build up his investment, only to have the feral ATF reduce it to 10% of the actual value through asset forfeiture laws.
Full Disclosure: I am close friends of the family.
All I know is that I eat at McD often, and I really hate the Mequon branch, even though I live there. We eat in Cedarburg (not part of this ownership) where the staff is nicer and the premises are more pleasant, even though it is a much smaller store.
The M branch is dark and generally half closed. The staff is surly and the orders are wrong.
Must have something to do with the owner/manager.
All I know is that this “kid” (40 years old) squandered his family fortune and ruined the lives of his employees.
-PJ
Well, that’s the price for being involved in illegal activities.
“Super high me.”
Collateral Damage?
I make no apologies for the mind-numbingly stupid actions of Ed Patterson. He was set for life at the age of eighteen, yet it was not enough. I ache for his parents, Jim and Pam. They were there for us like no others when we lost our son. Now they have lost their’s.
In hindsight, the clues were there, but nobody connected the dots.
Perhaps an inability/unwillingness to see the signs combined with poor accounting security. It sounds like Ed didn’t have any skin in the game so he was willing to lose the whole thing by mingling the drug business with the family business.
One of the very worst things you can do for your kids is give them money.
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