Wilmette Police Bust Cannabis Ring Involving Lake Forest Man

Four Chicago-area men and one minor have been charged with felony distribution of cannabis, according to a press release from Wilmette police.

Authorities arrested Paul Shapiro, 26, of Skokie; Patrick Folies, 27, of Morton Grove; Mikhail Bezuyevskiy, 27, of Albion; Benjamin Raimondi, 20, of Lake Forest and a minor from Highwood on July 6 after “an ongoing drug investigation by Wilmette detectives.”

Folies, Bezuyevskiy, Raimondi and the minor were apprehended after a traffic stop earlier on July 6. After the arrest, police executed a search warrant and seized four pounds of cannabis and $26,000 in cash from Shapiro’s apartment on the Skokie-Wilmette border in the 10000 block of Old Orchard Road, according to the release. Shapiro was arrested that evening in Chicago.

“The offenders were part of a network that was distributing cannabis in North Shore communities,” the release said.

Shapiro, Folies, Bezuyevskiy and Raimondi are set to be in court at 1:30 p.m. July 22 at Skokie Courthouse.

Below are the specific charges for each man being tried: 

Paul Shapiro: 

• Charges: Possession with intent to deliver 500-2,000 grams of marijuana
• Bond: $200,000 D

Patrick J. Folise:

• Charges: Possession with intent to deliver 10-30 grams of marijuana
• Bond: $100,000 D

Mikhail Y. Bezuyevskiy

• Charges: Possession with intent to deliver 10-30 grams of marijuana
• Bond: $100,000 D

Benjamin Raimondi

• Charges: Possession with intent to deliver 10-30 grams of marijuana
• Bond: $100,000 D

Juvenile offender

• Charges: Petitioned to juvenile court for possession with intent to deliver 10-30 grams of marijuana. Released to parents pending juvenile delinquency hearing.