Former employee of Millbury plumbing company sentenced for marijuana, fraud and money laundering convictions

BOSTON (USDOJ) – A former employee of a family-run plumbing company in Millbury was convicted today of drug, money laundering and fraud convictions arising from his role at a large marijuana grower.

40-year-old Thomas Laverty of Clinton was sentenced to 12 years in prison and eight years’ custody release by US District Court judge Timothy S. Hillman and sentenced to pay $ 3,100 restitution. In January 2020, after a five-day trial, Laverty was convicted of conspiracy to grow more than 100 marijuana plants, conspiracy to launder money, cultivating marijuana, and owning marijuana with intent to distribute, and was later found guilty of stealing government funds .

Laverty and certain co-conspirators used a plumbing business, Chuck Laverty & Son Inc., as the front for a large-scale commercial marijuana grow and distribution operation. Laverty and others used Laverty & Son vehicles, bank accounts, and locations to facilitate the manufacture, storage, and distribution of marijuana. Each week, numerous Laverty & Son employees harvested 20 marijuana plants from the commercial warehouse with the goal of producing 8-10 pounds of dried marijuana per week. The dried marijuana sold in bulk for around $ 2,400 a pound.

Laverty has received income related to his work for Laverty & Son, including up to $ 5,000 per week in cash. During the same period, Laverty received benefits from the federally funded Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), whose eligibility is needs-based and is generally limited to households whose incomes do not exceed the federal poverty line. Laverty misrepresented his income based on related records provided to the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (which administers the SNAP benefits in Massachusetts), as well as hiding the fact that he lived with his wife who received the SNAP benefits themselves but used a different address than that of her actual place of residence.

Millbury-based co-defendant Andrea Laverty, 63, previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to grow marijuana and laundering money. She is due to be sentenced on March 3, 2021.

Acting United States Attorney, Nathaniel R. Mendell; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Ramsey E. Covington, Assistant Special Envoy for the Internal Revenue Service in Boston, announced today. U.S. Assistant Attorneys Bill Abely and Phil Cheng of Mendell’s Criminal Division are pursuing the case.