The plot has thickened in the investigation of a country-wide marijuana operation fronting as a Falls Township quilt business.
In December, LevittownNow.com reported that 63-year-old Deborah Page of the fictitious ‘Quilt Project’ and a resident of the Morrisville section of Falls Township had been arrested in connection with Joan D’Arcy. D’Arcy, 65, of Portland, Oregon, who acted as the distributor for the operation, frequently sent Page packages of marijuana through the United States Postal Service. Those packages were addressed to Page’s quilt business and sent to a P.O. Box. Read more of the original story here.
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The operation, which had allegedly conducted business for several years, was put in jeopardy when one of Page’s dealers came forward to police, identifying her and her position. Falls police in conjunction with Bensalem police, the Bucks County District Attorney’s office and Portland and Morrisville postal inspectors, launched a several month-long investigation into the operation.
The investigation came to a head while Page was on vacation. Page, who had a promised dealer working for her for over five years, to continue to pick up packages from the Morrisville P.O. Box and deposit them in her storage unit at the Extra Space Storage Facility on Lincoln Highway in Falls, according to court documents.
While conducting surveillance at the Morrisville Post Office, police identified the alleged dealer as 24-year-old Tullytown resident John James Coffman. Coffman, who was observed picking up a package from the P.O. Box on June 30, was stopped by police and searched, court papers say.
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A box addressed to ‘The Quilt Project’ contained six bags of marijuana, a cellphone with connections to D’Arcy in Portland, an empty PO parcel addressed to D’Arcy’s ‘Healing Waters and Sacred Spaces’ cover, keys to the storage facility, $2,800, a key to the P.O. Box and an envelope addressed to ‘The Quilt Project ‘ were all found by police on Coffman’s person or in his vehicle, as noted in the probable cause affidavit.
According to Coffman during a police interview, he had been selling marijuana for Page since he was in the tenth or eleventh grade at Pennsbury High School. He was instructed by Page to conduct business operations as normal while she was away.
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Police, after receiving permission from Coffman and Deputy District Attorney Daniel Sweeney, used Coffman’s cellphone for several weeks to connect with D’Arcy and her operation in Portland. According to court records, Postal Inspector Patrick Corrigan contacted postal inspectors in Portland to continue the investigation of D’Arcy on July 18.
D’Arcy has been charged with two felony counts each of manufacturing, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, and conspiracy – manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver. She has also been charged with criminal use of a communication facility. Page, as codefendant, faces two charges of a felony involving the manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, and two felony charges of conspiracy regarding possession with intent to deliver. D’Arcy’s bail was set at 10 percent of $950,000, while Page’s bail was set at an unsecured $100,000. Both women await a continuation of their preliminary hearing on February 10.
Coffman, whose case was not filed until January 21, was arraigned by Judge Jan Vislosky. He was set free on $75,000 unsecured bail. He also is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on February 10.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
