BC Bud Outta Here Presented by Portland General

BC Bud Outta Here!! Presented by Portland General Electric

Steve Sprague Supervisor Energy Recovery Unit Ed Arnold Field Investigator

Our Background • We both have worked for PGE for 30 years • Each of us have about 20 years with Energy Recovery • Ed is from the Union side of the company • Steve is from the Non-Union side of the company

Energy Recovery Group • 1 Supervisor • 2 Coordinators • 4 Field investigators We plan on bringing on 3 more field investigators with in the next 2 years

Experience • • Over 1000 Marijuana grows in the last 20 years Called to testify hundreds of times in court Had involvement in excess of 5000 grow operations Used an on site grow operation (Minus Plants) in our evidence room and recorded our findings over a 3 month period • Receive calls and leads daily from: Law Enforcement Employees Customers

• Oregon has always been one of the leaders for indoor marijuana grows. • Even with all the experience that we have with working grow operations, what hit us in 2006 & 2007 was a huge challenge and took everything we had.

B C B U D

• For years Canada has been dealing with a huge problem involving the growing of marijuana and power thefts • Law Enforcement kept warning us that it was coming our way. • Because of the tighter security at the border • Because they can get more profit for their product in the US • Because the demand is high in US • Spread quickly on West Coast with connections across the country What we are going to share today is how quickly it came and how hard it hit us.

Here we go……….

Why Do Utilities Care? ?

Chain of events • • When we 1 st began to see the signs When we started to realize what was happening How we learned How we adjusted How we identified the locations Busted the grows Recovered our lost revenue Ended the BC Bud Invasion

In just over a years time we worked and billed about 70 of these cases with losses exceeding $620, 000 • Grow operations were from 24 -54 lights • Always thefts • Losses ranged from $1000 to $2500 per month per site

• We went from not having any of these grows to being buried in them in a very short time. • At times we had so many active thefts going at once we had to set some aside and just monitor them until we were able to work them. • We estimate that our losses would have at least doubled within a year and at the rate they were popping up our losses may well have tripled to close to $2, 000 Does it make sense to have a Revenue Protection Program? ? ?

• We will walk you through some of the cases and some of the setups. • Various groups and gangs in Canada were involved • We experienced in our area Vietnamese gangs and family operations

Players involved: • • • The pro or plant specialists Electricians Grow stores (their own) Real estate agents Mortgage brokers Set up team Tear down and cover up team Harvest teams Investment scams Fraud and identity thefts

Players involved: (cont) • • • Relatives and friends Main players were never found or charged Money was very hard to locate They don’t talk or snitch All had similar excuses, plans You could tell they had evolved over time

6/5/06 house fire reported at a location in SE Portland with a grow • Repair called by fire department to disconnect service • ERU was notified the next day about the fire/grow **wrong** • Fire started at the top inside wall • ERU had no access the next day • Law enforcement provided details • Equipment found 24 -1000 watt lights and ballasts • Vietnamese

On 7/26/09 I received a call in the evening from DEA advising me they were at a house in SE Portland where a grow had recently been removed. When we arrived we noted the following: • There had been a very large grow • House did not appear to be lived in • Condition of the house led me to believe that the grow moved but not because they were spooked • Vietnamese names • Service was inside the bedroom wall • Usage was some what elevated the last 3 months

What we found. . Con’t…. . • • Sheetrock on bedroom wall had been cut Conduit cut open, marks on insulation Hundreds of pot ring marks on carpet 2 very large filters in corner of room Leaves on floor Pots, hoods, panel, wiring etc found left behind To additional houses were located at the scene

Another address in SE Portland is uncovered on 7/26/06 while working the case with DEA • • No one home (midnight inspection) Got a smell Basement windows covered Could hear fans and ballasts OH service in the wall Amp reads 61 + 57 Disk was not hardly moving Pulled meter and equipment stayed on

Con’t……. . • Police sit on house all night and execute warrant the next day @ 2: 00 pm • Tap found inside kitchen cabinet • 24 – 1000 watt lights • Ballasts were all without covers • Not lived in • Homemade hoods

Police went by a third location also discovered from the original house and got no smell and said the house appeared vacant. End of story? ? Wrong!!! More to come…. .

8 -23 -06 Another house fire call with a grow inside • Vietnamese • This time ERU was notified the same day and arrived to meet 4 television crews • No one appeared to live in the house • Under ground tap • Fire started in the living room closet with the ballasts • 24 -1000 watt lights and ballasts • Phony names on account • Elderly Vietnamese home owner gets scammed or burned depending on how you look at it

8 -30 -06 Final house from 7 -26 -06 grows • This was the house the police said was vacant and nothing happening • Ed went to investigate but has no amps and the conduit would not allow use of scope • Ed finds small shavings inside base • No one is ever home during the day • Ed saw no activity in the evening • Time for surveillance with unmarked vehicle

First night of surveillance pays off!! • A couple of vehicles show up with two Vietnamese guys and enter house to begin work • Called for an Eagle to assist • Put DEA agent on alert from the other cases • Made contact with the workers • Tap was located behind the kitchen cabinet • Called DEA to assist • ID Badge and Phone trick • Reconstructed grow • Billed all three houses and collected

Meter Reader reports tampered seal 10 -27 -06… Investigator finds a meter at a house on SE 92 nd Ave with copper jumpers over the meter legs • Windows covered • Vietnamese name • Pulled off account and leave tamper to do more research

On 12 -20 -06 we went back to SE 92 nd ave and jumpers and grow gone • A warrant was served even though it was too late • Walls and ceiling were painted and holes were patched and still damp • We gathered as much evidence as we could and came up with an estimate of our total losses • After we made sure we had no active accounts attached to this guy we sent him a bill • Customer pays $9, 200. 00 in full

1/11/07 Three more grows are found SE Portland • Meter reader reports cut and tucked seal

• Investigator determines no one home and pulls the meter • Line to load copper folded over meter legs – takes photo and reinstalls tampered meter • Next morning @ 5 am do a drive by and find two vehicles – get plate numbers • 4 hours later 2 more grow houses found 1 with jumpers the other with a tap

Notice no snow on roof

• All 3 grows were 30 lights • 2 houses worked same day and the 3 rd house the next morning. (Wrong) • Following is what happens when you wait till the next day.

2/8/07 3 more house located this time by law enforcement • PGE verifies taps at all 3 locations • Law enforcement watches houses and gathers info on comings and goings • Houses to be worked at the same time on same day • PGE puts 3 teams together

Site 1 12059 SE Main

Exterior OH service passing through the eave

Garage wall tap access

Tap panel

Timers

Grow rooms

Site 2 142 nd Pl Portland

Service inside wall

Behind kitchen cabinet

Tap

Tap panel

Timers and wiring

Ballasts

Grow rooms

Site 3 125 th and Harold SE Portland

OH Service thru eave

Tap

Tap panel

Ballasts and timers

Grow

Dated wires and Filters

6/12/07 Nguyens Cases Estacada, Milwaukie • Hill way found by ERU • ERU Investigator wants 2 nd opinion but thinks he has a tap • Ed Scopes conduit to expose UG tap • ERU finds it tough going to get law enforcement on this house because it is so far out of town and they are buried in grows already • Grow goes away • Research turns up several newer accounts with ties to this guy and three houses that are closer together

Cont… • New places are caught from office based on similar phone numbers • Ed is doing drive by on another location and stops to use portable outhouse at top of hill. Spots the van from the Hill Way address

Site 1 Jennings Ave caught in office

Site 2 Clackamas Rd Grow • Drive by Steve notices landscaping freshly done around UG Service • Windows covered • House just felt right

Site 3 La Marquita • This address was caught by using a phone number used at Hill Way in Estacada

• Steve Misses diversion on several trips Ed and Steve return and pull meter and not everything in basement goes off

Tricky

9/10/07 Neighborhood Association reports tip that leads to another group • All 3 tapped ahead of meter • All AM checks • All 3 houses had grow diagrams and instructions on walls

Interviewed the owner of these 3 places and this was what he gave up • • • Rented all 3 houses to Tony Nguyen No rental agreement on any of them Paid $2000 rent in cash each month per house Taped envelopes to mailboxes We are pursuing the owner for all 3 houses hoping he can tell his story to the judge There were many more grows and stories but we want to close with a case we just resolved 2 years after it started

NE Sacramento Portland After another one of those long days where we had been working grows all day with law enforcement, another address surfaced on NE Sacramento We had checked this place a year earlier and found nothing wrong here When we arrived to check again we found an Audi in front of house but decided to check anyway since all of his friends had just been busted.

• It was about 5: 30 pm and we decided to go for it because with the other three we did not want to spook this one. • We recorded 75 and 80 amps at weather head but not much at meter • We called and reported theft with possible grow • Law enforcement had no one available • Ed left and I stayed to watch house • Hour later red trucks leaves from garage and I recorded plate number • Next morning no vehicles and amps are still there so we think maybe were ok (Wrong)

• One week later we see a name change on account from owner of Audi’s name. • Next morning we go back to inspect and no amps now, scoped conduit and no tap. • We kept watching hoping it would return. • 6 months later we start seeing activity again but no change in amp – we can smell dope. • Law enforcement says he has a medical card, Law enforcement would not go near site with medical card • We knew he had a grow at his prior address so we decided to check • Contacted the homeowner and he agreed to give us access to look for possible past grow and tamper. • Owner took us to the basement to show where he believed the grow had been located.

• The owner had already counted pot rings on floor and took pictures of the damage, we reconstructed the grow based on evidence we found. • We went upstairs to find evidence of where theft had been. • Owner let us cut open sheetrock in kitchen and we found conduit cut open and wires taped. • We were able to determine the grow had been between 35 & 40 lights. • Back at present time I came across same red truck at another drive by • A few weeks later Ed and I verified UG tap at NW 13 th Gresham • We took a huge grow from that address but DA would not connect Red truck to Sacramento even though we had seen come out of garage @ Sacramento

• 4 agencies later and we are still trying to get a warrant so we can get inside to reconstruct the grow that went away, it was beginning to feel like we were never going to get this guy. • May 2009 – while talking with a Sgt from Clackamas County he said they would be willing to help since the first theft was actually in their county. • Decided to knock and talk and if no success we will let it go finally. • Victory at last when the target guy and a friend answer the door. • Medical card has expired. • Card allows 6 adults plants and 12 immature plants. • Our guy has 18 Christmas Trees.

• I get to interview our guy. • I explained we knew he had hundreds of plants before • He assists Ed and I reconstruct • Because he assists we let him keep service inside wall but replace mast and wires • Agrees to pay $9000 for two thefts but supposedly not his • Closure at last – never give up because if you don’t try you cannot collect • I couldn’t help but contact and update the 4 agencies that would not assist.

Conclusion: Be Proactive Be Aggressive See the whole picture Leads: • Plates • Phone numbers • Relatives • Prior addresses • Employment • Real estate records • Neighbor hood watches

Mistakes they made: • Staggered their timers but had load on all the time. • Not living at places allowed us to check. • No cameras. • Dates on wires and equipment. • Phones used at multiple locations.

Things they did well: • Seldom left behind names or addresses • Gave very little or bad information on accounts • Houses were in unlikely neighborhoods • Didn’t roll on each other • Avoided rental agreements and checks

In closing Having a Revenue Protection Department is not only the smart thing to do but it’s the right thing. Utilities owe it to their customers to limit their exposure to these kinds of things Network and support your neighboring utilities Support and attend WSUTA Support and attend IURPA If you don’t know or have not seen before, call and talk with a utility that has or knows. Work together because they do!