Crime & Safety

Affidavit In Campellone Case Details Findings On Day Of Raid

The document supports a complaint filed last week by the U.S. Attorney's office to seize the Campellones' Adirondack Drive house.


Along with the complaint filed in federal court Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s office to seize the house belonging to Robert E. Campellone was an affidavit outlining exactly what was found in the 236 Adirondack Drive house on June 8.

East Greenwich Police raided the Campellone house Friday morning, June 8, arresting the Robert E. Campellone, 58, and his two sons, Robert B., 23, and Kyle C. Campellone, 22. They were charged with cultivating marijuana and possessing 1 to 5 kilos of the drug with intent to deliver. The elder Campellone was also charged with maintaining a narcotics nuisance.

According to federal law, a residence used to commit or facilitate drug offenses is subject to forfeiture.

Newport Police Officer Michael Naylor, also a member of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Taskforce, took part in the raid that day; it’s his affidavit that accompanies the complaint.

Just before the raid, according to Naylor, Robert E. Campellone and Kyle Campellone were intercepted as they were leaving in a car. They were brought back to the house and a search of the house began.

Sharin Campellone, Robert B. Campellone and his girlfriend were in the house at the time, according to the affidavit.

In the younger Robert’s bedroom, police found “numerous mason jars containing … marijuana, numerous large, clear, zip-top plastic bags containing … marijuana, numerous small, clear plastic bags containing … marijuana, a large clear plastic bag containing … hashish, mulitiple digital scales, $30,350 in U.S. currency … vials containing seeds, bags of potting soil … a grow tent.”

Inside the grow tent (which was noted as 5 feet high, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet deep), the affidavit said police found two trays of young marijuana seedlings underneath grow lights.

Naylor goes on to say two more “large, clear zip-top plastic bags containing … marijuana” were found in Kyle’s bedroom.

Police also searched the basement, which Sharin unlocked for them, according to the affidavit. There they found two four-tiered drying racks and some marijuana plants – “specifically leaves and buds separated … from stalks” – on one of the racks.

Police followed electrical wiring to a square room in the center of the basement. According to Naylor, “Along the exterior of that room was a humidifier and ducts connecting the humidifier to the square room’s interior. The walls of the interior … were covered in reflective plastic sheeting, and inside the room, there were fans, carbon dioxide tanks, and high-intensity lights connected to the aforementioned wiring.”

Scant marijuana was found in that room.

After the search, Robert B. Campellone was advised of his rights, according to the affidavit. He then admitted he grew marijuana and had growing equipment. “He also admitted to accepting cash ‘donations’ in exchange for marijuana,” the affidavit said. Both parents admitted knowing their son was growing marijuana in the house, according to the affidavit.

Police seized approximately 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of marijuana and 88 grams (3 ounces) of hashish from the Campellone house.

Also mentioned in the affidavit was an incident on May 16, 2011, in which Robert E. Campellone was stopped by R.I. Airport Police after TSA officials found he was concealing $68,450 in his underwear during screening. That money was seized and portion was forfeited, according to the affidavit.

It also mentioned Robert E. Campellone was part of an application in 2010 for a license to dispense medical marijuana under the name “MariMed Caregivers Inc.” That license was not granted.

All three Campellones were released on bail but forbidden from returning to East Greenwich while on bail. Kyle was sent to a treatment facility in Oklahoma.

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To read the entire complaint, click on the pdf attached, right.


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