The cherries were jarred and labeled in a brick building on Dikeman Street, a few blocks from the south Brooklyn waterfront, roughly half a mile from Ikea. The 67-year-old family business supplied its syrupy toppings to familiar chains like TGI Fridays, Red Lobster, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Chick-fil-A. Red runoff from factory operations—more than 14 million pounds of cherries per year—had been reported in the nearby water, and area bees had reportedly turned red. On Tuesday, two environmental agencies and the Brooklyn District Attorney's office conducted a raid on the headquarters of Dell's Maraschino Cherries, wherein agents spotted "suspicious shelving" attached to a wall by magnets. The family patriarch, Arthur Mondella, retreated into the bathroom and told his sister, "Take care of my kids," then pulled a gun on himself. The rest of the details feel ripped from an episode of Breaking Bad. As reported by The New York Daily News:

After Mondella shot himself in the head, investigators were shocked to discover three bags holding about 80 pounds of pot and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash stashed in the factory, sources said.

Later, after executing a search warrant on the secret entrance, investigators uncovered "a huge marijuana-growing operation" underneath the warehouse, a source said.

In the space below the plant, they also found numerous high-end vehicles, including a Rolls-Royce, a Porsche and Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

The scene played out on the same day that Alaska became the third state to legalize recreational marijuana to adults 21 and older, and less than 48 hours before a similar law goes on the books in Washington, D.C. Last summer, Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson announced that his office will no longer prosecute citizens caught with 25 grams or less of marijuana and no prior record. Obviously, Mondella had much, much more than that.

John Hendrickson Deputy Editor John Hendrickson is the Deputy Editor of Esquire.com, where he oversees the site's 24/7 news operation as well as all politics coverage.

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