When an indoor cannabis farm in Red Bank shut down this winter just months after startup, owner Alexander Federico blamed the failure on electrical grid problems that he said caused the initial harvest to fail. But now, three of his partners in the business say Federico was, well, blowing smoke.
That first cannabis crop never made it to market because they say Federico threw the product – up to 600 pounds of weed worth between $500,000 and $3 million – in a dumpster bound for a local landfill.
In interviews with redbankgreen and written complaints filed with the Red Bank Police Department and NJ State Cannabis Regulatory Commission, the business partners say the improper disposal was part of an attempt to seize control of the business and shut them out of the operation.
One business partner also says Federico ran up fraudulent charges on his credit card, and that he and property owner William Duckworth physically locked him out of the 15 Leonard Street facility by placing concrete barriers at the gate even though he still had thousands of dollars of equipment inside.
Read more at Red Bank Green