Poker pro faces federal charges in Maryland over marijuana scheme



A once up-and-coming poker player from New York has fallen. Micah Raskin was arrested this past February after he was busted with 358 pounds of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Now, he faces other charges related to the bust, but on a federal level.

A once up-and-coming poker player from New York has fallen. Micah Raskin was arrested this past February after he was busted with 358 pounds of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Now, he faces other charges related to the bust, but on a federal level.

When police raided two locations tied to Raskin on Long Island in February, they found an extensive drug operation being led by the 50-year-old. It was billed as the largest drug bust in the history of New York State’s Nassau County and resulted in Raskin facing four felony charges for criminal possession of marijuana in the first degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, among other charges.

Following an extensive investigation, detectives have now linked him to an interstate marijuana ring that saw large amounts of marijuana being sent to Maryland. Since marijuana is illegal on the federal level in the U.S., transporting the drug across state borders makes it a federal offense.

During the raid, police seized $140,000 in cash, vehicles, over $100,000 in artwork, a shotgun and a Taser. He was slapped with a misdemeanor charge for the firearms. Police also managed to get their hands on his directory of customers and the prices that were being paid, which more than likely put a number of individuals on edge as they waited for a knock on their doors from law enforcement.

Raskin was charged at the beginning of October in a U.S. District Court for distributing more than 220 pounds of marijuana across state line. The investigation revealed that he kept the drugs in a warehouse on Long Island before shipping them to customers in Maryland, Virginia, New York and Washington, D.C. He was charging as much as $1,400 per pound for his stash.

When he dedicated his life to poker, he was doing fairly well. He had earned just under $2 million in live tournaments, according to Hendon Mob, and probably could have made a decent living at the game. Now, however, he faces serious time behind bars—possibly up to 20 years, or more—where he’ll be able to play all the poker he wants in exchange for cigarettes, or other necessities.

This article is a reprint from CalvinAyre.com.  To view the original story and comment, click here. 


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