Longtime 'Cornbread Mafia' fugitive in court

Federal agents in Louisville have chased after the alleged leader of the so-called "Cornbread Mafia" for eight years and, following his recent capture in Canada, they're pushing to get him back in the Bluegrass State.

John Robert "Johnny" Boone, a Kentucky farmer accused of directing what federal prosecutors once dubbed the largest domestic marijuana producing organization in the nation, was taken before a Canadian judge Thursday. He landed on the U.S. Marshal Service's "America's Most Wanted" list and, after a lengthy investigation to find him, was arrested last week in the Montreal area, according to the U.S. Marshals Service's website.

The 73-year-old told Canadian officials he was working in construction and living in Quebec under the assumed identity of "Dennis Ross," but he wouldn't reveal when he went to Canada or if anyone helped him hide out, according to the Montreal Gazette. Boone was polite during a hearing before an Immigration and Refugee Board in Montreal, claiming he isn't dangerous and crossed the border to help “the people of Canada and do good works,” the Gazette reported.

But Anthony Lashley, a lawyer for the Canada Border Services Agency, argued before board commissioner Dianne Tordorf that Boone presents too much of a flight risk to be released from prison, according to the Canadian newspaper.

Read more: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2016/12/30/longtime-cornbread-mafia-fugitive-court/96009220/