MUSCLE MAKER GRILL Franchise Owner Dealt Pot, Meth & Coke, Police Allege
Muscle Maker Grill franchise owner Sean Burgio was helping customers get loaded on more than carbs, according to Bethlehem Township, PA police.
(UnhappyFranchisee.Com) According to a story in MCall.com, the 32-year old Burgio was the target of a drug raid that that netted more than 30 pounds of marijuana, 19 guns, methamphetamines and cocaine.
Sean Burgio and his brother David Burgio opened the Easton, PA Muscle Maker Grill franchise in the 25th Street Shopping Center at 2411 Nazareth Rd, Easton, PA in July, 2013.
Officials have said they don’t yet know what – if any- role the Easton Muscle Maker Grill franchise played in Burgio’s alleged illegal narcotics distribution business.
Muscle Maker Grill Franchisee Burgio May Have Dealt Drugs for Several Years
According to the Mcall.com story:
[Bethlehem Township police Sgt.] Blake said the investigation began in October after Bethlehem Township police received information that Burgio may have be dealing drugs in the area. The investigation revealed Burgio may have been dealing for several years, Blake said, adding that Burgio’s name had popped up in past drug allegations.
As part of the operation, investigators conducted surveillance of Burgio’s home in a quiet residential neighborhood and made several undercover drug buys, Blake said.
“I don’t think it was nickel-and-dime operation,” Blake said. “Our feeling is that he was dealing more in larger quantities.”
As the probe grew, other law enforcement agencies became involved.
Police from Bethlehem and Palmer townships, the Northampton County Drug Task Force and agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration served the warrant.
The narcotics investigators were conducting surveillance on the house early Monday but were concerned Burgio’s child might have been in the home, so they delayed the breach, Blake said. As they kept an eye on the home, a Palmer Township officer spotted Burgio driving home.
Burgio was arrested in his BMW in his driveway, he said. Burgio had $120 in his pocket and a satchel containing $9,340 and two semiautomatic handguns in the back seat of the car, according to court records.
Was Burgio’s Muscle Maker Grill Franchise Financed With Drug Money?
Did Sean Burgio finance his Muscle Maker Grill franchise with drug money?
Was the Easton Muscle Maker Grill used to launder dirty money from the sale of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana?
Police said they didn’t know “if funding to open the restaurant can be tied to the drug operation… federal agents are looking into the financial aspects of Burgio’s drug business.”
It will be interesting to see what comes out in the investigation to come.
We will also be interested to see what other controversies come to light this year regarding the troubled Muscle Maker Grill franchise chain.
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I like the food, though.