Whoops

When you ask kids what they be when they want to grow up, “cherry tycoon” probably doesn’t even make the list. I didn’t even know that was a valid option until just a few days ago, but hey, to each their own. I guess being the owner of one of the largest maraschino cherry companies in the country just isn’t enough for some people however, as authorities raided Arthur Mondella’s Brooklyn cherry factory and discovered it was in fact a massive drug front. Hidden behind strange shelving and a magnetically operated secret compartment embedded in the wall within a room devoted to the storage of vintage automobiles was what could only be described as a marijuana cave. To quote one of the responders, “As soon as that door cracked, the aroma of marijuana was overwhelming. It looked like a cave, like they dug it out on their own.” Inside authorities found three bags of marijuana. Note, there’s no mention of the size of the bags, so these could be full on potato sacks filled with weed that we’re talking about here.

Unfortunately, as soon as it appeared that authorities would find his secret drug cave, Mondella asked to be excused, went to the bathroom, and shot himself in the head. Here’s the real kicker; upon being informed of the suicide, a law enforcer on site said, “Poor guy, in this day and age, you can do no jail time for marijuana.” Well darn, that would’ve been great information to have literally moments earlier.