Definitely under new managementDavid R. Mendoza’s life in summation: former Garfield High School class president. Owner of the historic Liberty Theater in Bend, Oregon, and the bro-friendly Pazzo’s Pizzeria in Eastlake. Apparent friend to the entire B.C. chronic smoking nation. As of today, however, you can add sentenced pot smuggler to that list. Mendoza’s long trip through the federal judicial system finally came to a close yesterday after a federal judge sentenced him to 14 years in prison for his role in a prolific marijuana smuggling operation. Back in 2006, law enforcement identified him as the ringleader in a conspiracy to smuggle an estimated 1,000 kilos of the so-called B.C. bud into the country, after which he fled the country. Authorities eventually caught up to him in Spain, and in May he plead guilty to drug smuggling. When last we left him, Mendoza was waxing apologetic on the topic of his crimes, while being held in detention in SeaTac. But along with his sentencing comes some worrisome news for Pazzo’s fans: The pizzeria, in addition to all of Mendoza’s other businesses, were seized after his admission that all of them were purchased with ill gotten gains obtained from the drug conspiracy. So, get a slice while you can, as there’s no telling who officials will eventually sell the pizzeria to, or what that buyer might have planned for it.
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