Man guilty in meth lab bust

A Niagara man who ran a sophisticated Breaking Bad-style methamphetamine lab from a barn in a rural area of Wainfleet will return to court next month to learn his fate.

“This methamphetamine lab was enormous and very sophisticated,” Judge Theresa Maddalena said in a Superior Court of Justice in Welland.

James DiBenedetto, 60, on Friday was convicted of three counts including producing a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime in connection with a police raid Jan. 15, 2011 at a property on Creek Road in Wainfleet. He will return to court May 23 for sentencing.

Defence counsel Steven Fishbayn had argued at trial that another man had set up the meth lab on the property and that his client had no idea what was going on inside the large barn.

The judge said that defence simply didn’t hold water.

“The only logical inference is Mr. DiBenedetto knew exactly what was beyond the wall. That is the only logical conclusion based on all the evidence.”

Court heard Niagara police executed warrants in early 2011 at the Wainfleet property as well as at a home on Foresthill Crescent in Pelham where DiBenedetto lived following a five-month investigation.

A fully-operational meth lab and approximately 2.1 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine were seized.

A search of the master bedroom in the Pelham home turned up $50,000 in cash as well as various text books and manuals on how to cook meth. Among the books were Advanced Techniques of Clandestine Psychedelic and Amphetamine Manufacture.

Police also seized a notebook that listed a number of chemicals and corresponding amounts.

One of the chemicals listed was 85 pounds of manganese sulfate. A quantity of manganese sulfate was found in the clandestine lab.

A 2005 article from a Toronto newspaper entitled “Rural Ontario’s Mr. Meth” was also seized when it was found in the home.

The judge ruled the various paraphernalia found in the master bedroom, and the fact police observed the defendant visiting the barn on a number of occasions, linked DiBenedetto to the meth lab.

“I conclude this is substantially more than a passing interest in methamphetamine production,” she said. “I conclude this is more than bed time reading.”

Court heard it took Niagara police - working alongside Ontario Provincial Police, Health Canada and hazardous waste specialists approximately five days to dismantle the lab.

Many of the chemicals used to make meth are toxic and flammable.

Police at the time of the arrest said the volatile brew can easily cause fires or explode, making the makeshift labs a public safety concern.

The seized drugs were tested by Health Canada and determined to be 86 to 98 per cent pure.

“Clearly, the parties had fine tuned the proper method for methamphetamine manufacturing,” the judge added.