Names residents, previous applying LLCs
In a lawsuit filed Feb. 19 in Plymouth Superior Court, Rockland-based Cannavana Inc. accuses Harbour Grace Tewksbury LLC, Bella Luna LLC and Carbonear LLC as well as Patrick Nichols, David O’Brien and Dean Graffeo individually of breaching a commercial loan agreement.
Mario Chiuccariello is the owner of Cannavana and appeared before the Tewksbury Planning Board in June with Nichols for a site plan review for Bella Luna LLC, which applied unsuccessfully for a license to operate a retail location at 890 East St. At the time, Chiuccariello said that Cannavana would be an operating partner to Bella Luna.
Harbour Grace unsuccessfully tried to acquire the Maverick’s property at 2212 Main St. for a dispensary. That LLC listed Nichols as agent.
Graffeo also applied unsuccessfully in the first round of applications for a license to open Carbonear at 2186 Main St., adjacent to Boudreau Automotive.
Graffeo is now seeking a license at a new location, 1625 Andover St., under Route 133 Cannabis LLC. That application will be considered by the Select Board on March 12.
O’Brien is President and CEO of the Massachusetts Cannabis Business Association, which says its mission is to support the industry by advocacy, networking and creating professional connections.
The breakdown of how the first two licenses were approved is here.
In the lawsuit, Chiuccariello alleges that in April 2023, O’Brien visited the Cannavana retail store to discuss a business opportunity — specifically, leveraging O’Brien’s personal connections in the industry and the town to secure one of Tewksbury’s three retail marijuana licenses. The locations under discussion, per the filing, were 890 East St. for Bella Luna and 2212 Main St., the former Maverick’s location, for Harbour Grace.
The suit alleges that O’Brien assured Chiuccariello that obtaining the approvals was “a guaranteed success because he would leverage personal connections within Tewksbury, having grown up there,” and that he would introduce the Cannavana owner to “an individual named ‘Dean’ who would help smooth the process with Tewksbury.”
The suit alleges that O’Brien and Nichols made verbal personal loan guarantees to Cannavana to secure a $180,000 loan to be used to secure one of Tewksbury’s three retail cannabis licenses. Most applicants for a license cite financing and capitalization in the area of $1 million.
While the suit states that “it is Cannavana’s information and belief that Dean Graffeo is the individual named ‘Dean’ whom Defendant O’Brien mentioned at the original site visit,” it makes no mention of Graffeo signing any paperwork or meeting with Chiuccariello.
The gist of the lawsuit is that the named defendants did not use the $180,000 as promised but “misused the funds for inappropriate and illegal purposes such as texting minors about selling marijuana, and attempting to smear the reputation of a local board member responsible for approving their business.”
That latter allegation seems related to a postcard that many community members received, but that no entity publicly claimed responsibility for.
Residents may recall that Select Board Vice-Chair James Mackey recused himself from the licensing process. O’Brien is Nichols’ uncle, while Mackey is a second cousin to Nichols.
Chiuccariello alleges in the suit that “Cannavana has suffered damages due to Defendant’s breach including loss of payment under the original agreement, loss of interest payments, the loss of the possibility of opening a business in Tewksbury, and reputational harm in the cannabis industry.”
He requests damages in an amount to be determined at trial, plus interest, attorneys’ fees and costs. He further asks the court to “pierce the corporate veil” for fraud. By piercing the corporate veil, a court puts aside the limited liability afforded by an LLC and holds shareholders or directors personally liable. It’s meant to prevent an individual from using an LLC to conceal fraud or another violation of the law.
Last week, the Carnation reached out to attorneys for Cannavana; O’Brien, through the Massachusetts Cannabis Business Association; and Nichols and Graffeo individually. The only response as of this article going live was a spokesperson for Nichols who stated:
“Even in the wake of these reckless claims, this remains a private matter between a company (Harbour Grace Tewksbury LLC) and a lender (CannaVanna Inc.). Harbour Grace is deeply disappointed by these careless and inflammatory allegations and looks forward to vigorously defending its reputation and interests.”
The lawsuit does not provide any information on what entity or individual the loan was officially issued to, who cashed the checks, or who — if anyone — signed any relevant documents.
Residents can download the lawsuit as well as the applications for Bella Luna, Carbonear and Route 133 Cannabis below.
Lorna Garey
Lorna is a past and current Malden resident, U.S. Army veteran, and longtime tech and community journalist who has written for organizations ranging from the DIA to InformationWeek. In her previous hometown she founded a hyperlocal news site, the Tewksbury Carnation.
The residents of Tewksbury were given strong and direct assurances at Town Meeting that these licenses would be allocated fairly and that there would be no insider deals, no backroom handshakes, etc.
Until there is an open accounting of what these funds were used for and where the money went (or the lawsuit is dismissed for lack of evidence, etc), the Town should consider delaying any further license allocations. We were asked for our trust and now it is time to honor that request.