A welfare check by city cops led to the discovery of a marijuana grow operation and about $100,000 in cash, which the subject of the investigation suggested was trust fund money and his “wife’s tip money at Eat’n Park restaurant,” according to federal court papers.
Federal prosecutors say it’s pot money — and they want it.
David Perl, 61, of Robinson Boulevard, is the target of an investigation by DEA and Pittsburgh police.
He’s not been charged federally, but the U.S. attorney’s office indicated in a civil action filed last week that it wants to forfeit $98,215 agents found in his house in February after police initially went there to check on Amy Ferraro, Perl’s wife.
The case started on Feb. 25 when Ferraro’s employer couldn’t reach her and called police to check on her. Police showed up, and Perl let them in, saying he didn’t know where she was after she’d left following an argument.
Officers did a walk-through to make sure she wasn’t there and found marijuana plants, a bin of marijuana and a shotgun in a closet.
Police then got a search warrant for the house, and a DEA task force came to the scene. They found a scale, paraphernalia packaging, two grow tents with pot plants inside, jars of marijuana, test tubes, a ledger with pot prices, several guns and cellphones.
During an interview, Perl said that he had a medical marijuana card and had started growing pot because of the high cost of marijuana sold at dispensaries. When officers asked about all the cash, he said he kept more than $100,000 at the house because he “didn’t trust banks.” He said the money was from his trust account and Amy’s tips.
Officers later found a PNC Bank statement for an account in his and Ferraro’s name showing a balance of $120,956. When asked about that, Perl explained that he’d recently begun to trust banks again. He also said he can’t work because of a disability.
Perl filed an administrative claim that included proof of a trust established for him and its disbursements, but prosecutors said the monthly disbursements are “not indicative of saving more than $200,000,” which represents the PNC account and the cash in the house.
Prosecutors said the investigation shows probable cause that the money represents proceeds from selling marijuana.
Torsten covers the courts for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Reach him at jtorsteno@gmail.com.
