Dear Mr McCormick. This is in reference to your 4/30/19 thcfarmer article about Neville's passing and start of Operation Green Merchant. However, your focus is on Ray Cogo, who you describe as a snitch who turned in Neville. The basis for your assertions are the 1990 and 1994 Prosecutors affidavits supporting indictment of Neville, Chas. Frink and others, and the affidavit of Mr. Cogo. Theres no question that Cogo cooperated under threat of prosecution in the 1990 indictment of Nevil. But the fact is that Neville was a prime DEA focus when OGM began in 1987, long before any information from Cogo. Agents had purchased multiple seed orders thru the High Times ads. There were several grow busts and the defendants admitted their seed source. Next, Neville was never brought to the US, his cases were dismissed and he died of natural causes. At the same time, you insinuate that Cogo's disclosures led to untold arrests and prosecutions of hydroponic store customers who had also purchased from seed bank. The affidavit of agent Pike indicates the DEA was well aware of all the seed bank orders, and had been monitoring their activities, alerted by Neville's high times interviews. And by 1994 the DEA was after high times, Hagar testified before a grand jury and a judge ruled it's ads werent protected by the first amendment. Apparently while possible, there's no direct link between whatever lists Cogo kept or turned over, and any prosecutions of any other person's outside of the 1990 indictment. Any grow stores customers were fair game independent of the lists.
So while you villify Cogo you lionize Neville, despite the fact that he was not a savory character, and was deeply involved with law enforcement himself, as to the heroin traffic in Holland.
Your opinion is one thing but you attempt to represent conclusion without real facts or evidence is mere speculation. And when you refer to Cogo as a snitch, it may well be considered libel, as well as economic disparagement to his lawfully owned brand of liquid plant nutrients. Please review what is available and consider your further clarification and retraction.
You assume that Cogo turned over the full lists of 11000 orders, which would be approximately 360 pages, not 8, but this is speculation. You say it's impossible to determine how many growers were busted by DEA stalking grow stores, yet guess that many can blame Cogo. Further you say, What is more alarming is that the DEA agents already had the addresses of the people who received the seeds during the time that Cogo was responsible for sending them. So despite your sadness for Nevil's passing, your blame to Cogo is unjustified in light of the DEA activities in monitoring the seed bank, hitimes, as well as grow shop customers.
Do you seriously think that the DEA wasnt all over every transmission and mailing from Nevil? That they weren't watching grow shops and their customers regardless of Cogo? And don't you ever wonder about the roles of Rosenthal Watson and hitimes in the whole outgrow the government scam to identify and lead the market?
Finally, Todd, you disparage Mr Cogo for his lawful acquisition of the original formulas from Frink. So Nevil the junkie bond skipping international criminal is a hero and Cogos a rat. What would you do when you're set up, busted and jailed, when your friends are in cahoots with your other friends to cut you out and take it all back? And threatened with prosecution and 30 years in prison? Are you such a goomba that you say omerta? Maybe you should contact Mr Cogo and find out what really happened. You are such a fine author; it may be better for all for you to write an honest chapter. And then you can post his pictures with his permission. Or are you so foolish as to not be potentially liable for your disparagement of his economic interests, as well as your false and misleading posts.
We can discuss this further if you wish. I am a pot lawyer and friend of Cogo for many years. His products are the finest available. Your sniping is unwarranted.
How’s ya field of dreams going this yr @1diesel1
cannacon.org
