A California man dreaming of a big drug sale in the midwest instead found himself taken into custody. Brian Piazza of California drove to Polk County in western Wisconsin last week with over 30 pounds of marijuana. Polk County Sheriff Tim Moore said Piazza was willing to drive to Wisconsin to make the sale. “A state agent acted as the buyer, made contact and told him he had the cash,” said Moore. “This guy was more than willing to drive out with it.”
Moore says the deal went down in a parking lot in St. Croix Falls, which is about an hour and a half north of the Twin Cities. “We were there with the undercover agent who supplied the cash amount, which was a little over $74,000 for the 30 pounds of marijuana.” Street value is estimated at $150- $200,000. In anticipation of Piazza’s arrival, investigators contacted the Lake County and Mendocino County Sheriffs department in California, where thirteen more “co-conspirators” were arrested and over 500 pounds of of marijuana was recovered. Moore said this is one of the biggest busts he can remember in Polk County.
Kurt Mayer, WXCE