FBI busts lawyer for sneaking synthetic cannabis soaked paper to a prisoner

The Federal Bureau of Investigations filed a criminal complaint against Massachusetts lawyer Theresa DiJoseph for sneaking in paper soaked with synthetic cannabis also known as K2.

DiJoseph was visiting inmate Shawn Hart, who was incarcerated for distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine and also for possession of a gun. He has been at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island since June 2023. Di Joseph requested a “contact” visit with the inmate, which allows an attorney to visit a prison without plexiglass barriers to conduct legal business, such as signing papers.

The lawyer stated she was Hart’s attorney, but upon further review, she wasn’t. Rather, DiJoseph is a lawyer specializing in civil litigation, including personal injury involving automobile accidents and slip-and-falls, and child welfare cases representing clients before the Department of Children and Families – none of which applied to Hart.

David Tomasso, director of Wyatt’s professional standards unit, apparently became suspicious of DiJoseph because of the way she was slouching when visiting and because she requested a specific room for the contact visitation. He reviewed her tablet and found she had been sending photos of herself to Hart and made sports bets on his behalf.

She was allowed a visit in December 2023, and corrections officers reviewed her legal papers, which included the cannabis-soaked paper. They confiscated 10 sheets of the paper. The corrections officer who directly handled the papers sought medical treatment

The correctional officer said in the complaint, “I am aware that synthetic marijuana is often smuggled into facilities through pieces of paper that have been sprayed or dipped in the synthetic marijuana. The paper is then torn into smaller pieces and distributed throughout the facility for payment … I am aware that a single sheet of K2 paper can be sold at Wyatt for between $1,000 and $4,000 based on the availability of the contraband at the facility at the time. A single sheet of K2 paper will often be cut and sold in smaller pieces.”

The complaint also included another inmate and his friend, who provided the sheets to DiJoseph. Security cameras caught DiJoseph obtaining the sheets from another woman and then walking into the correctional facility. She signed a form declaring she had no contraband.