Man accused of having marijuana delivered wants permission to speak with co-defendant girlfriend

WAUKESHA COUNTY (WITI) -- A man accused of having marijuana delivered to his home in Waukesha appeared in court on Monday, April 6th in Waukesha County.

Angelo Tagliavia



32-year-old Angelo Tagliavia was in court to ask permission to speak with a co-defendant in the case, 30-year-old Shannon Collins, Tagliavia's girlfriend who is pregnant with his child.

Waukesha police busted Tagliavia, Shannon Collins and her brother, Shawn Collins -- accused of ordering weed from California and having it shipped to their Waukesha home.

Police were able to quickly catch on to the scheme. In December, they executed a search warrant for the packages and the home they were being delivered to and made even more discoveries.

Neighbors living near Oakland and Beechwood in Waukesha are in disbelief over what police say was taking place in a home in the area.

"Yeah, that was a little shocking," Paul Plotkin said.

Shannon Collins



Court documents obtained by FOX6 News show at least four packages were delivered to a home in the neighborhood since October. Inside each box -- massive amounts of marijuana. The case became part of an existing year-long investigation by Waukesha police involving marijuana drug trafficking organizations. One of those packages, weighing eight pounds has a street value of $47,000. Combined, all of the boxes weighed 32 pounds. Investigators will only say the marijuana has an "extremely high" street value.

"They do try to hide the parcels -- the proceeds and contents of the parcels -- but our detection program is very good," Postal Inspector Brian Haraway said.

Haraway couldn't talk specifically about this case, but he says there are many ways investigators can spot illegal items in the mail.

Police say Shawn Collins would order the pot from California and have it delivered to his sister's home. Shannon Collins lives in the home with her boyfriend, Angelo Tagliavia.

"That explains why I haven`t seen Shannon around for awhile," Plotkin said. Plotkin lives directly next door to the home where Shannon Collins lives with her boyfriend, Angelo Tagliavia.

Neighbors stand by Shannon Collins -- calling her and her boyfriend good people and the allegations absurd.

"It`s illegal here and that`s a shame," a neighbor said.

After a search of the home, police say they found prescription painkillers and they believe Collins was selling them. Police also found digital scales inside -- commonly used to weigh drugs.

Those involved in this case face a long list of charges, including possession with intent to deliver and maintaining a drug trafficking place.

FOX6 News has learned Shawn Collins died in early February.