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Police charged two men in connection with an alleged marijuana growing operation on S. 48th Street yesterday.
James Lippert, 49, and David Eisenstadt, 50, were charged with possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, which is a felony, and other drug-related charges, after police raided 1123 S. 48th St. (near Chester Ave.) yesterday afternoon.
Lippert is being held on $1.5 million bail, according to court records. Eisenstadt’s bail is $1 million. Both are being held at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.
Witnesses say they saw police removing large trash bags and planting pots from the home, which property records show is owned by Lippert.
June 28th, 2012 at 6:00 pm
who snitched?
June 28th, 2012 at 6:25 pm
It’s possible no one did. PECO’s new smart meters can alert when there’s excessive usage.
June 28th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
isn’t eisenstadt a barred attorney? way to throw your life away.
June 28th, 2012 at 6:27 pm
@Amara…
Dude should have gone solar!!!
June 28th, 2012 at 7:05 pm
bummer! why arrest people for this?
June 28th, 2012 at 7:22 pm
I think it’s outrageous that the cops are wasting their time on this when there are folks getting jumped in the streets. Legalize marijuana now and quit wasting police resources on this.
June 28th, 2012 at 7:58 pm
These guys went out of their way to obstruct a worthy initiative in a zoning case for a neighboring property, so I say the hell with them, even as, yes, weed pales in comparison to any number of local ills…
June 28th, 2012 at 9:15 pm
Nice, Charles. You had a disagreement about zoning policy, so you’re happy to see them go to jail for the rest of their lives for a victimless crime. You must be a terrific neighbor.
June 28th, 2012 at 9:28 pm
i suspect that the problem with the “zoning issue” was that these guys didn’t’ want their illegal drug business to be hampered by the presence of a pre-school. you see, parents of young children tend to notice when, oh,say, a large drug operation is in full swing where their children are playing. so,no, i don’t think they deserve too much sympathy.
eisenstadt took an oath to uphold the law when he was sworn in to the supreme court of pa when he was admitted to the bar. he deserves everything he gets as a result of his, uh business model.
June 28th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
$1.5 million dollar bail…as much as I love going green, somethin seems like there is a little bit more to this operation. If not, then somethin is seriously wrong with the system. You can literally shot someone and get less bail. Unreal
June 28th, 2012 at 9:56 pm
Charles #2, they had the option to not oppose the zoning change. But from what it sounds like, they chose to interfere in a significant way with other people’s ability to conduct a perfectly legal business. I agree with you that pot is pretty benign, but they were the ones who decided to insert themselves into the zoning question. When an illicit business succeeds in shutting down a licit enterprise, I would agree with Charles #1 and lawmom that sympathy is not particularly warranted and that something is wrong with the system.
June 28th, 2012 at 10:21 pm
I own the house next door and worked hard on getting the temporary zoning variance for the preschool use approved. Dave and Jim were both fine neighbors and Jim went to great lengths to try and stay uninvolved with the zoning – to the extent that he gave me a notarized letter stating that he was unopposed to our application. A small handful of neighbors had issues with our application (and a TON of folks were either in support or “unopposed”).
A journalist told me that the $1.5 million bail reflects “flight risk”, or rather that the accused has the resources to leave town if need be.
Regardless of what I think about drug laws, etc., they both treated me fairly and I wish them all the best. It must be monumentally sucky to be in their shoes right now.
June 28th, 2012 at 11:49 pm
Thanks, Milan, for the neighborly comments. I expect to be well-informed before commenting, myself. I agree with the earlier post “should’ve gone solar”!!
June 28th, 2012 at 11:51 pm
Actually, Charles #2, I am a good neighbor. The worst thing you can say about me as a neighbor is that my back yard is messy with kid stuff, my butterfly bush out front tends to grow out of control, and I’m running to paunch and hence not so pleasing to look at. I’m not breaking laws and I don’t interfere with other people’s perfectly nice plans. And I don’t own a car, so I free up a spot on the block. In sum: kiss my ass!
June 28th, 2012 at 11:59 pm
…but apparently I’m also grievously misinformed, as per Milan’s comments. Apologies to the gentlemen and to Charles #2. Any ass-kissing is mine to do. It’s not apparent in this exchange, but I do actually try to avoid being a dick to my neighbors.
June 29th, 2012 at 9:50 am
This “call to action” by our local fuzz is such a red herring. The neighborhood suffers greater ills than a couple guys and their in house community gardening efforts.
Why can’t cops be educated to actually chase after real criminals in this city? Like the dead beat property owners who are seriously delinquent on their property taxes, causing the shortfall in funding for our local schools….which has serious ramifications.
Plus Dave wasn’t such a bad dude, despite his prickliness…he meant well.
June 29th, 2012 at 10:04 am
No one had to snitch and PECO didn’t need to monitor electricity, this house straight up STANK like weed 24/7. I feel really sorry for these guys and think pot should be legal but since it isn’t you need to get your smell under control if your growing in a populated area of the city.
Hopefully the house around the corner that smells just as strong is getting their sh** together today!
June 29th, 2012 at 11:40 am
Stewie: because not paying property taxes isn’t a criminal offense for police to be involved in?
June 29th, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Sounds like someone failed to make their weekly payoff.
June 29th, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Can we stop pretending that this is not criminal activity? Regardless of your opinions about what the law SHOULD be, currently it is illegal.
June 29th, 2012 at 3:34 pm
@Happy Curmudgeon- yes it is illegal, but there are plenty other illegal things that the police SHOULD be spending their time on. Jaywalking is also illegal but do you see the PPD even bothering to stop and give people warnings about the dangers of jaywalking, let alone giving them a citation? Or tracking down guns that have been reported missing prior to it being used to kill someone? How about just manning the streets so that people on our street aren’t getting mugged at gunpoint every other week?
June 29th, 2012 at 4:27 pm
@Lucy, based on eyewitness reports, the raid was federal level. The DEA is only there to deal in commercial drug operations, not mugging deterrence.
What’s shitty is these 2 thought they could just set up a hazardous industrial operation in our neighborhood in a duplex, with residences all around them. Not even their residences; they live on the Main Line.
June 29th, 2012 at 4:57 pm
@Ella – the article only said “police” so I assumed PPD – I thought that if it was DEA it would have been reported here because that’s a detail that is usually included. The DEA is the biggest waste of money in US history.
June 29th, 2012 at 7:21 pm
We’re still trying to straighten out the DEA/Philly PD question. The Philly PD is listed on the court documents as the arresting agency. But when we called police to talk about the case they disclosed very few details, which for a case that includes a bunch of felonies and big bails is unusual. Usually there is some publicity about these kinds of things, but not this time.
– Mike @ westphillylocal
June 29th, 2012 at 10:07 pm
@LUcy–right and do you think that the neighborhood is filled with other law-abiding hippies buying up that illegal commodity? If so, you should smoke up. It’s criminal and it attracts the same. The practical sense in this matter should remind you that the level of electricity often used by these places are responsible for dangerous and fire-prone situations. Am I being a little over the top? Maybe but you know what? One less house full of drugs might make an impact on other crime. Maybe.
June 30th, 2012 at 7:51 am
@Happy Curmudgeon. Silly. Did you never watch Weeds? Pot criminals are all like us! Just educated professionals and harmless silly pot-smokers! Puff-puff, hee-hee!
But seriously, fire hazards, yes. The NYT has been full of stories recently about people in high-foreclosure suburbs waking up to an inferno blazing away in the grow house they never knew was in their cul de sac. Not cool when you live with neighbors cram-jammed on top of you in every direction.
June 30th, 2012 at 10:12 am
Ella, please provide some evidence that the grow was hazardous.
You seem to have many opinions but little evidence to back them up. The articles in the NYT mostly reference immigrants who come to the country for the soul purpose of wringing maximum profits out of homes with little concern for the community. How is that apropos to the situation?
As a former gardener at a hydroponic farm, I can attest that the lights used are mostly UL listed. Of course, one can attempt to bypass the meter or use old knob and tube wiring, but you have no evidence that occurred in this particular case. No fires were reported and there’s nothing written that indicates there was any hazardous conditions.
[deleted by Moderator. Personal attacks are not acceptable on this site.]
June 30th, 2012 at 11:56 am
Looks like it was a banner night for the drug unit in West Philly:
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/05/16/large-marijuana-growing-operation-uncovered-in-west-philadelphia/
July 1st, 2012 at 3:53 pm
They had a dog named BLUE, did the police kill the poor animal?
July 1st, 2012 at 8:52 pm
In the short term he is staying with family, but Blue may need a foster home for the future…
July 2nd, 2012 at 3:09 am
I’m glad to hear Blue is alright. I know he had a bad reputation but he was always a good dog. It’s really a shame about Jim and Dave. They were really nice guys. Dave can be a real jerk but he also did things like help push a broken down car up spruce hill and pulled a neighbor out from under a collapsed porch. Whatever they allegedly did, they were good neighbors.
July 2nd, 2012 at 3:51 am
I’m glad the dog is being cared for, at least for the short term.
Milan, I hope there will a post,here, if another home cannot be found. Perhaps a Craigslist ad would help.
Make no mistake, he a killing machine, but Blue is
a kind and loving soul; he was pampered, spoiled and loved by Dave.
They had a cat, which Blue did not maul; the dog and cat were instead odd friends.
These “alleged” criminals did not generate the dollars needed for nice cars, clothes, electronic gadgets, or their own health insurance. It was back breaking work, with no long term reward. A tragedy all around.
Thanks for the info, as my heart goes out to the loving canine and these
harmless fellows.
July 3rd, 2012 at 4:28 pm
Well I guess walks to the Chester Ave. Dog Park will smell slightly less um herbal.
July 16th, 2012 at 10:34 pm
David is a good person. He has helped a lot of people and has gone out of his way on numerous occasions, and at risk to himself, to help other people in times of duress. Jim too is a good human being. In addition, they were actually providing a much needed service and product to some people that should be getting medicinal marijuana for illnesses such as MS and cancer.
People that paint this as a black and white, good guys v bad guys issue are obtuse and out of touch with the complexities of the modern world. Yes, they were running an industrial workshop in a residential zone, but that does not warrant ruining people’s lives, nor does the illegal growing of marijuana warrant such over zealous reaction from law enforcement and the judicial system.
I hope they can rebound from such an unfortunate set of circumstances and regain some normalcy for themselves as soon as possible.
July 27th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
Someone called it in: http://www.newsworks.org/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=items&id=41759:police-seize-over-25m-in-marijuana-cash-during-recent-bust
Milan, do you plan to try again with the ZBA soon? I hope so. Perhaps neighbors will be more receptive to your safe, quiet, legal business now…
July 31st, 2012 at 11:13 am
Jim Lippert is a friend of mine. I appreciate and concur with S Lock’s sentiments and wish the best for Jim and Dave. Thanks for the update on the dog(s)too, I was worried about them. Happier than ever to be in California..even though I don’t partake
August 14th, 2012 at 1:05 am
Pennsport Pub will miss You! You perverted Jew! Steve,Dawn & Traci!
August 15th, 2012 at 12:53 pm
I knew both of these guys,n they both are good people besides the fact of the pot,everyone has things they do an hope not to get caught so they grew some plants,you don,t know if it wasn,t them it will be someone else they catch. Sorry to hear about you guys this way Dave n Jim. Glad to the dogs are alright also.
January 4th, 2013 at 8:03 pm
who trashed the house, the cops?
Strange guys certainly, and not just because maybe they grew some pot.
By the way, they did live there most of the time. 8 to 10 years ago Jim’s family lived there.
Is Dave back in the hood?