# Missy Giove Update: Ex-bike champ avoids prison in pot bust



## Blackdoq (Feb 19, 2007)

Ex-bike champ avoids prison in pot bust - Times Union

ALBANY - A former world champion mountain biker arrested in Saratoga County in 2009 for helping traffic hundreds of pounds of marijuana across the country will not serve any time in prison.

Melissa "Missy" Giove was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court by Judge Gary L. Sharpe to time served, six months of home detention and five years of supervised release.
Giove, of Norfolk, Va., was arrested in June 2009 after DEA agents watched her and Eric Canori of Wilton unload a trailer that police said had once contained 350 pounds of marijuana.

According to court records, the now 39-year-old was paid $30,000 plus travel expenses to coordinate the transportation of marijuana across the country, some of which was to be distributed upstate.

Giove pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2009 and could have faced up to five years in prison. A prosecution memorandum carried a recommended 24- to 30-month sentence with at least four years of post-release supervision and a $25,000 fine.
With rows of friends and family seated behind her, Giove choked up as she made a tearful apology to the court before her sentencing.

"I am extremely sorry and remorseful," Giove said. "I realize I was a role model to certain people. I'm really sorry for making the wrong decisions. I just want to move forward."
Giove retired from mountain bike racing in 2003 after becoming one of the most decorated female athletes in the sport, winning multiple national and world championships and landing endorsement deals.

Giove's attorney, Tim Austin, said head injures both forced his client to retire and sapped her financially, contributing to her decision to traffic marijuana.
"Missy's involvement in this does not define who she is," Austin said. "She does not need prison to be rehabilitated."
Along with Giove, Canori and Robert Reinfurt, of Utah, were arrested in 2009.
DEA agents searched Canori's home after watching him and Giove begin unloading a trailer from which State Police in Illinois had confiscated 350 pounds of marijuana during a routine traffic stop.

DEA agents then followed the empty trailer to Wilton. Canori and Giove both fled from his residence when they saw the drugs were gone, but were arrested a short time later, police said. Inside Canori's home, DEA agents said they found 40 pounds of marijuana stuffed in a freezer, a money counter, plastic bags, a heat sealer and $1.47 million in cash hidden in a duffel bag and shoe boxes.

The following day, DEA agents raided an apartment used by Canori in Ross, Calif., and said they found $600,000 in cash and marijuana packaging materials.
Reinfurt admitted to helping package and load bags of marijuana into vehicles and trailers which were used to transport the drugs.

Canori and Reinfurt both pleaded guilty to federal charges as well. Reinfurt was sentenced to time served and Canori is to be sentenced in January.


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## B-Mac (Oct 2, 2008)

Wow. Good for her. 

I'd probably get jail time if I got busted with a dime bag. 

That attorney earned his fee!


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## genemk (Sep 15, 2009)

Yeah, no ****. My car got towed from in front of me once in high school by cops because we were skateboarding. Amazed she got off for something this big.


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## man w/ one hand (Dec 29, 2003)

genemk said:


> Yeah, no ****. My car got towed from in front of me once in high school by cops because we were skateboarding. Amazed she got off for something this big.


Only one way she got off w/ the sentence she was given......you figger it out.


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## supercusty (Nov 17, 2008)

man w/ one hand said:


> Only one way she got off w/ the sentence she was given......you figger it out.


q4t


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

man w/ one hand said:


> Only one way she got off w/ the sentence she was given......you figger it out.


state evidence


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## istandalone (Feb 6, 2011)

wow, Albany & Saratoga Cty....these are about 45 minute drive from my house.


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## toHELLuRIDE (Jan 27, 2008)

Give her the chair!! 

Damn stoners!


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## gollub01 (Mar 24, 2008)

Yea this happened right down the street from where my parents live and where I grew up.....

my dad calls me up one day..."Hi sean, ummmmm uhhhhh did you ever race DH bikes with a girl named missy go-ve-aa.......Something happened down the street from us".......


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## gollub01 (Mar 24, 2008)

.....the government makes is sound like they are fighting the war on drugs til the end......The truth is, if it ever stopped, they'd never get cut backs like this.....I agree we live in a strange country these days..... but that's for another after-school special....


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## Iceman2058 (Mar 1, 2007)

Is it true she retired from DH due to head injuries, back in the day?


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## 1soulrider (Jan 21, 2004)

Iceman2058 said:


> Is it true she retired from DH due to head injuries, back in the day?


Yep, too many concussions. She was a very brave and skilled rider who did crash spectacularly on occasion.


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## Nut! (Nov 2, 2007)

Forget that, ross is a ten minute ride (if you're booking it) from my house in fairfax... Crazy.


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## saturnine (Mar 28, 2007)

$2mil to the government in confiscated funds. not a bad haul. if you legalize it, you'll never profit like that.


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## aljodoro (Jul 7, 2004)

*Great News*

This is great news. I am 61 years old, my wife and I have followed Missy for years. We were disappointed that a brillant career and a ground breaker life would be defined by this. Missy stepped out and was in tront of alot of trends in the US. I don't believe she was anything but a motivating postitive figure for a lot of people.

I first saw her at Mt.Spokane where she responded to a question about why she was such a polarizing figure. She responded that it was probably because she had ovaries. At first she upset my male views but as time went on I gathered a great respect for this individual. .

Thank you for some sanity in the courts, she paid for the crime of transporting a large amount, she did her time and spent that time with great uncertainity of her future. Best to you Missy. . .


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## gmcttr (Oct 7, 2006)

saturnine said:


> $2mil to the government in confiscated funds. not a bad haul. if you legalize it, you'll never profit like that.


Haven't you ever heard of excise taxes?


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## saturnine (Mar 28, 2007)

gmcttr said:


> Haven't you ever heard of excise taxes?


yeah, being canadian, we have some of the highest in the world. nevertheless, routinely collecting millions of dollars for free doesn't hurt.


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## DustyBones (Jun 23, 2010)

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

MISSY IS FREE! :cornut:

Now for more shots like this:


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## exocetaaron (May 11, 2009)

Thanks for posting the update blackdog, I'm so happy that she is free and not going to serve time. I rode a chair with her once at Northstar. Pot should be legal. Go live your life Missy!!


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## whoda*huck (Feb 12, 2005)

saturnine said:


> yeah, being canadian, we have some of the highest in the world. nevertheless, routinely collecting millions of dollars for free doesn't hurt.


Legalizing and taxing it would generate billions.


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## Ratt (Dec 22, 2003)

whodaphuck said:


> Legalizing and taxing it would generate billions.


I love that quote in the beginning of 'The Layer Cake', "...not millions, f'n billions..." .

I am glad for Missy but hope there is not too much blow back on her for such a light sentence.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

saturnine said:


> $2mil to the government in confiscated funds. not a bad haul. if you legalize it, you'll never profit like that.


that's a drop in the bucket for the cost on the "war on drugs"


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## Metanoia (Jun 16, 2007)

witness protection program!


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## wsmac (Sep 5, 2010)

I live in Humboldt County California... sorta has some kind of reputation concerning this issue... if pot were ever legalized... the county would have to file for bankruptcy!

Lots of money filters around our communities from the pot industry. There were town meetings and plenty of press over this issue recently... scares some folks... legalizing pot and losing all the grower's dough.
Nice for business when your customers carry rolls of bills so you know their checks won't bounce, don't haggle over price concerning certain supplies, and pay cash every time!

I understand we sell more turkey bags in our county than anywhere else in the country. Always wondered why since we don't have any turkey farms and the stores really don't seem to sell that many turkeys anyway. But now I understand 

Still, I feel it's a shame to make criminals out of people over pot. I work in the medical field (have since the 70's) and I have always seen much worse issues concerning alcohol.
Not sure if we'd see more pot issues if it were legalized and controlled that way.
The government attempts at controlling pot since the 50's has been a colossal FAIL!

Personally, I think it's sad when people like Missy and that olympic swimmer get pressured into making a public apology.
Do we make people publicly apologize when they drive drunk and maim/kill others?
Do we make people publicly apologize when they are caught speeding?


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## myarmisonfire (Mar 28, 2005)

saturnine said:


> $2mil to the government in confiscated funds. not a bad haul. if you legalize it, you'll never profit like that.


Taxes. You'll make even more!


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

myarmisonfire said:


> Taxes. You'll make even more!


Shoot, If it were straight-up legal like lettuce, it'd still go off like gangbusters and provide revenue.
NOT TO MENTION!!  the whole textile, oil, plastics, ...*name one* for hemp.


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