Cylvia Hayes admits she once bought land to illegally grow marijuana
ANOTHER NOTORIOUS AFFAIR: Oregon ‘First Lady’ Cylvia Hayes was, in addition to her other scandals, involved in an illegal marijuana growing operation in 1997-1998.
By Brad Matthews | WatchdogWire.com
Cylvia Hayes, the scandal-wracked fiancee of Oregon Gov. Kitzhaber, already has had to admit that she once married an Ethiopian man for money so he could get a green card. But that wasn’t the only illegal green she’s been involved with.
Four months after her “marriage,” Hayes and her boyfriend at the time bought a remote property in Okanogan, Wash., for $245,000 with a $15,000 down payment. The seller, Patrick Siemion, received the down payment and about $1,000 from a few monthly payments before payments stopped and the foreclosure process began. Public record shows Cylvia Hayes gave up her interest in the property in April 1998.
When original seller Patrick Siemion returned to the property, there was clear evidence that marijuana had been produced there. In speaking to KOIN 6 News, Siemion said “They had been growing marijuana. There was a very large pool table in the log house and it was covered with what people call a shake, when they trim plants, it was covered with that. And then I went out into the outbuilding and there was a full smorgasbord apparatus for drip irrigation, and marijuana specific fertilizers etc. etc.”
Hayes later made a statement to KOIN herself, saying “I am not proud of that brief period of time – I was involved in an abusive relationship with a dangerous man. We lived together for several months on the property in Okanogan that was intended to be the site of a marijuana grow operation that never materialized. I was never financially involved with it. I did not pay any part of the down payment or mortgage payments. I had no money.” KOIN also verified that Hayes’ boyfriend had been convicted of domestic violence charges before.
