By Tony Gordon

Daily Herald Legal Affairs Writer
April 06, 2002

A Lindenhurst man called an "industrialist" for the elaborate marijuana system he constructed in his home was sentenced to three years in jail Friday.

Lanny Adleman, 38, will be allowed to leave jail only to work and attend drug and psychological counseling.

Agents of the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group raided Adleman's former home at 300 Robincrest Lane in March of last year and found it had, in large part, been converted to an indoor marijuana plantation.

Agent Chad Roszkowiak testified there was a hydroponic growing system, in which plants are grown in water rather than soil, in use on all three floors of the home.

Sophisticated lighting systems mounted on tracks to simulate the effect of the sun on the plants cast an amber glow from windows in the house that was visible from surveillance positions police used during the investigation, Roszkowiak said.

Close to 200 plants in every stage of development - from seedlings to several feet tall - were found in the house. Adleman kept records indicating he expected 11 harvests per year, police said.

The plants were not producing common marijuana, Roszkowiak said, but a high-potency strain known as "Cali Bud" or "Dank" that sells for as much as $5,000 per pound, close to five times the price of lower-grade marijuana.

"The man was an industrialist with the system he created for himself," Assistant State's Attorney Karen Lentz said. "A significant terrin the Department of Corrections is warranted to deter others from similar activity."

Defense attorney Stephen Scheller said that Adleman should be given a chance at probation in order to continue the drug treatment program he began shortly after his arrest.

"You have to look at not only the crime but the man himself," Scheller said. "He has had significant problems and has used marijuana on a daily basis since he was 15 years old."

Adleman told Associate Judge Victoria Rossetti he had lost the house and the real estate business he started because of his arrest but considered himself fortunate.

"I have had a chance to stop smoking marijuana through my treatment," Adleman said. "My whole outlook on life has changed and I am looking forward to living drug free."

Rossetti's sentence also requires Adleman to serve a four-year term of probation, including submitting to random drug testing and to perform 250 hours of community service