A Corinna man was sentenced Friday to six months in federal prison, a year of supervised release and a $10,000 fine for aiding the operators of a huge marijuana-growing operation in Washington County, U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced.

According to court records, Robert Berg, 52, knew that three Maine men and migrant workers were growing marijuana in Township 37, an operation that was discovered by police in September 2009. It was considered one of the largest marijuana-growing operations in Maine, with authorities seizing nearly 3,000 plants worth about $9 million.

The three men who ran the operation were convicted on drug charges in January 2014. They are scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 30.

Berg, according to the court records, picked up the migrant workers after the operation was discovered, drove them to his house, hid them in his barn and then fed and clothed them until they were picked up and driven out of state by others. Berg pleaded guilty last year to being an accessory after the fact.

Also Friday at U.S. District Court in Bangor, Berg’s screen printing business, Berg Sportswear in Corinna, was put on probation and ordered to pay nearly $12,000 in restitution for a separate case of trafficking in counterfeit goods.

The defendant pleaded guilty to the counterfeit trafficking charges last year, two years after federal officials raided the screen printing business. Authorities said they found T-shirts printed by Berg that contained the copyrighted logos of sports teams, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Jack Daniel’s whiskey.


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