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Agents: Canadian Man Had $172,000 Cash.
By admin | October 28, 2004
By Judy Harrison
Bangor Daily News
October 28, 2004.
A Canadian man remained Wednesday in Penobscot County Jail after being arrested on Monday when border agents found nearly $172,000 in U.S. currency in his minivan. Harry Stowe Smith, 27, of Fredericton, New Brunswick, was charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Bangor with bulk cash smuggling into the United States. He was not required to enter a plea.
A detention hearing to determine if Smith will be released on bail pending the resolution of his case is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 2.
Because border patrol agents seized the cash, Smith qualified to have an attorney appointed to represent him, U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk ruled Wednesday.
Smith stopped at the Houlton border crossing about 6:45 p.m. Monday driving a minivan with Ontario license plates. He told agents that he had been in Boston visiting family and had missed the Houlton exit where he had planned to visit friends before going to New Hampshire to visit some girls, according to court documents.
Agents also found marijuana stems and mushroom stems in a box in Smith’s van, but he is not facing drug charges.
If convicted, Smith faces up to five years in prison and could be banned from re-entering the United States.
In an unrelated case, Gilbert Nadeau, 51, of New Brunswick remained in Penobscot County Jail after appearing Wednesday in federal court on a charge of illegal re-entry into the United States after being excluded.
Nadeau, who speaks French and was provided a translator, was picked up about 10 p.m. Monday at a gas station in Lille with Jerry Ouellette, 42, address unknown.
Ouellette is a U.S. citizen, according to court documents.
Agents reportedly found 109 pounds of marijuana in hockey bags seized from Ouellette’s car. They also found $800 in U.S. currency and six marijuana cigarettes on Nadeau.
As of Wednesday, Ouellette had not been charged with violating federal law. It could not be determined if he has been charged in state court.
Nadeau was barred from entering the United States in 1998 because he had been convicted of at least two felony thefts in Canada.
He told border agents that he had crossed the border on Monday afternoon at Madawaska in a taxicab.
If convicted, Nadeau faces up to two years in prison.
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