Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 14, 1995 TAG: 9501160035
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The money, taken Jan.5 from one of Victor R. Layman's bank accounts, is believed to be from the proceeds of drug sales, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court.
An affidavit filed by a Drug Enforcement Administration officer said examinations of Layman's personal and financial records ``indicate a lifestyle far exceeding'' the combined $35,000 income earned annually by Layman and his wife.
Layman, 39, was charged Dec.14 with masterminding a marijuana manufacturing and distribution organization that produced high-quality pot sold throughout the Roanoke Valley.
His arrest came after police searched two Roanoke County locations: Layman's home on McVitty Road, and Majid Khoshghad's house on Poor Mountain Road.
In Khoshghad's basement, police discovered 750 pot plants with a street value of up to $5million. Also seized were grow lights, an irrigation system, potting soil, fertilizer, drying racks ``and other drug paraphernalia,'' according to an affidavit filed by a DEA officer.
After his arrest, police said Khoshghad told them Layman financed the marijuana operation and paid him $15,000 to $20,000 a year in cash to tend the plants in his basement.
After Layman was charged, drug task force agents searched two other locations where they believe marijuana was grown.
On Dec. 20, officers found hundreds of pots containing stubs of marijuana plants in a house at 6819 Bent Mountain Road, according to the federal affidavit. Several large bags filled with marijuana were seized from the home, along with potting soil, drying racks and an irrigation system.
Police searched a house on Chatsworth Drive in Roanoke County on Dec. 21. No marijuana was found, but the officers think that's because the drug dealers suspected the police were coming and got rid of the evidence.
``It was obvious that the residence had recently been cleaned thoroughly to include freshly painted basement floors, which had attempted to conceal the ring marks [from pots, similar to those] found in the other residences searched,'' said the affidavit written by DEA task force Officer H.W. Ewers.
The drug agents did find the same style irrigation and ventilation systems at the Chatsworth Drive house as were found at the other houses, according to federal court records.
Police suspect Layman financed other ``grow operations'' in Boones Mill and Botetourt County.
``Layman has titled property and utilities in other peoples' names, but it is Layman's money that is used to finance the mortgages, rent payments, various utility bills and grow operations,'' Ewers said in the affidavit.
Through his attorney, Layman, who was released on $50,000 bond, has denied any involvement in any drug ring.
Layman once was president of the Iris Society in Roanoke. He also started and ran the Academy of Real Estate. He sold the academy, which accredits real estate agents, in 1991.
At his initial court appearance in December, Layman told the magistrate that his annual income was approximately $25,000. Income tax records seized from Layman's house indicated that his wife earned between $5,000 and $10,000.
Federal agents seized the $50,592 last week under a federal law that allows the government to take money believed to be earned through criminal activity.
The task force agents suspect Layman may have more money stashed in other accounts.
A letter seized from Layman's home requested that $50,000 be wired to the United States from Nassau, Bahamas, in July 1994. The letter indicates an offshore bank account ``with an unknown amount of currency,'' according to the affidavit.
by CNB