WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts woman who played a minor role in the illegal marijuana growing operation that her husband and son ran by using the family plumbing business as a front has avoided jail time.
Andrea Laverty, 64, of Millbury, was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Worcester to one year of home confinement, The Telegram & Gazette reported. Her son, Thomas Laverty, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Tuesday for his role in the scheme.
“I understand my actions were wrong,” she told the judge.
Thomas Laverty and his father, Charles Laverty, were convicted last year of growing pot in a Clinton warehouse that was in the name of their Millbury plumbing business, Chuck Laverty & Son. Charles Laverty died of cancer shortly after his trial, and his conviction was vacated.
Andrea Laverty was fully aware of what was happening and she allowed her name to be used on business records, but she was “by far the least culpable,” of the three, prosecutors said.
She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cultivate 1,000 or more marijuana plants and conspiracy to launder money.
Her lawyer in court papers said she has turned her life around and is now the sole caretaker of her grandson.
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