United States v. James Emery, and Philip Falkowski John Collette Cynthia Falkowski

James Emery appeals his sentence following a plea of guilty to various charges arising from his participation in a large marijuana growing and trafficking operation. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

On March 3, 1992, Alaska state law enforcement authorities executed a search warrant at Emery’s house in Fairbanks, Alaska. Inside, they discovered a room with several live marijuana plants, approximately 25 pounds of dried marijuana, and equipment for cultivating and packaging marijuana. Emery was not arrested at the time. He subsequently moved to unseal the search warrant. To protect other investigations that might have been jeopardized by release of information contained in the warrant, the state responded by agreeing to charge Emery with no more than a misdemeanor with a maximum one-year prison sentence in exchange for Emery’s agreement to withdraw his motion. Emery acquiesced.

Alaska state police informed agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that Emery was involved in a large-scale drug trafficking operation. After an investigation that lasted several months, federal authorities indicted Emery and fourteen others on a variety of drug trafficking and money laundering…