Boston firefighter accused of growing marijuana in Maine

The younger Bradley appeared today in Roxbury Municipal Court where his attorney, Amanda Sheehan, acknowledged that he is part owner of the property. But she said he has not been to Litchfield since last year. Sheehan also said that Bradley had no idea about the raid or the charges until State Police arrested him.

"He has no knowledge of it, let alone any willingness to participate in what was going on,’’ she said.

Bradley late today posted $10,000 cash bail. Sheehan said a Boston police officer, who has worked with the firefighter, will escort him to Maine. Fowle said Bradley is expected to turn himself in to the Kennebec County Jail sometime Wednesday.

Bradley already faces legal problems in Maine. He is currently free on bail after pleading not guilty to operating under the influence charges filed against him in January by Lewiston police.

The elder Bradley was still waiting to see a judge in Chelsea District Court this afternoon.

Fowle said the Bradleys are each facing two counts for their alleged marijuana-growing operation – one count is a five-year felony and the other a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of 364 days in county prison.

Fowle said he did not know of any link between the Bradleys and an investigation in Bridgton, Maine – located about 80 miles away – that led to the discovery of a "grow house" allegedly owned by Sean Berte, a former Boston firefighter.

"We don't know of any connection," Fowle said. “The grow operations are located about 80 miles apart.’’

In late May, federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents and local police raided a home in Bridgton and seized 131 marijuana plants. Berte was identified by Maine officials as the homeowner. Berte's father-in-law, Michael Domenici, 60, of Rehoboth, Mass., was at the home at the time of the raid and charged with cultivation of marijuana, Maine officials said last month.

Domenici pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on bail in May, the Globe reported.

One day after the raid, Berte ended his eight-year career as a firefighter and resigned from the department. He was not charged.

Boston Fire Department spokesman Stephen MacDonald today confirmed that Paul Bradley is a member of the department and is assigned to Engine 33. He said Bradley joined in November 2007.

According to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine State Police, troopers went to the Bradley property on Howards End Friday night. Inside a two-story garage, they found “lights, watering system, timers, and soil’’ on both floors.

“The downstairs was ready for a new crop of plants, but they had not been, apparently, planted yet,’’ he said. Unharvested plants were found on the second floor.

The packaged marijuana was found in an adjacent mobile home that did not appear to be lived in on a regular basis, he said.

“The mobile home did not look like it had been lived in,’’ McCausland said. “There was a meager amount of things to eat inside. It was unclear where someone may actually have been living there.’’

According to Litchfield town records, father and son and at least one other person with the last name of Bradley are listed as the owners of a three-acre parcel in Litchfield assessed at a total of $72,800.

Fowle said Litchfield is a rural community.“It’s a nice town,’ he said. “It’s fields, woods, and lakes and several thousand people.’’