WATSONVILLE, Calif. -- 67-year-old Cecil Tanner calls the quiet neighborhood on Magnolia Drive, in Watsonville, home. Just 5 miles away, Tanner and his business partner, Mark Boutwell ran a very lucrative, but very illegal business.
Tuesday, the quiet neighborhood was anything but, and the business got a big spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Following an 8 month investigation, the Santa Cruz County Anti Crime Team among other Central Coast agencies, busted what they are calling the largest marijuana grow operation in Santa Cruz County.
The street value for the amount of pot seized Tuesday was $220,000 but law enforcement estimate that the amount the operation made in a year was $1 million.
Both Colorado and Washington state just legalized marijuana and California has a long standing debate about doing the same.
Central Coast News did the math to see how much this bust would've brought Santa Cruz County and the state in sales tax revenue if it were a legitimate business.
The state sales tax is 8%. That means of the $1 million weed profit, $80,000 would be taxed.
The county would keep 1% of that or $800. When asked where that money would be spent right now, the county said local swimming scholarships.
The state would get the remainder 7% or $79,200. When asked what they would do with that money, the California Department of Finance said, K-12 schools statewide would be the first beneficiaries.
