Published November 29, 2011, 01:32 PM

3 plead guilty to growing pot on national forest land in NW Wisconsin

MADISON — Federal prosecutors say three Mexican nationals have pleaded guilty to conspiring to grow marijuana in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Northwestern Wisconsin.

U.S. Attorney John Vaudreuil said 24-year-old Jorge Lopez-Ontiveros and 29-year-old Abraham Ramirez entered guilty pleas on Monday. Twenty-one-year-old Cesar Tinoco pleaded guilty last week.

They each face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison when they're sentenced early next year.

The men were captured in August after police raided a massive marijuana farm in the forest just south of Clam Lake. Authorities said they found nearly 10,000 marijuana plants worth about $1 million.

Three other men also face federal charges in connection with the farm. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb has set plea hearings for each of them for later this week.

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