Pubdate: Thu, 07 Apr 2005
Source: Capital Times, The  (WI)
Copyright: 2005 The Capital Times
Contact:  http://www.captimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/73
Author: Mike Miller
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

BAR OWNER IN COURT ON DRUG CHARGES

The owner of BJ's Roadside Inn in the town of Dunn was scheduled to
make a court appearance today on charges of running a drug-trafficking
house at his tavern and possessing marijuana.

Paul J. Benjamin, 50, was scheduled to appear before a court
commissioner at an initial appearance on both counts. The first count
is a felony carrying a sentence of up to three years and six months in
jail; the second is a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of nine months.

The charges stem from a Sunday afternoon in December when two Dane
County sheriff's deputies went to the bar, at 2515 U.S. 51 between
Stoughton and McFarland, on a continuing investigation into a previous
arrest.

When Deputies Jeff Thiel and Joseph Carrill arrived, however, they
found Benjamin and three other people in a back building, which was
apparently built as an addition to the current BJ's but never opened
because of problems with permits. They also found the back building
filled with marijuana smoke, the complaint against Benjamin said.

Thiel managed to get Benjamin's attention and when Benjamin opened the
door Thiel said there was a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from
the building. Benjamin suggested that the deputies must be smelling
something other than marijuana.

Benjamin denied having smoked any marijuana, as did a second man in
the building, Bryce Rotar, who said he was putting up Christmas
decorations. When asked about marijuana, Rotar said he had no idea
what the deputy was talking about.

Two other men also were in the building and eventually Benjamin gave
the deputies consent to search the building, the complaint says, and a
total of 110.7 grams of marijuana was found in various bags in various
locations.

When asked how often he allowed customers to smoke marijuana in the
back building, Benjamin allegedly said, "How often is life?"

The complaint says Benjamin told the deputies that since he took over
the bar several years ago he had gotten rid of the cocaine use that
was plaguing the business. But he also admitted letting customers
smoke marijuana in the back building on Friday and Saturday nights and
Sunday during the day, according to the complaint.
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