District of Idaho

Third Co-conspirator Sentencing Set for March 17, 2014

POCATELLO — Vanessa Campos, 25, and Noe Gonzalez, 29, both of Caldwell, Idaho, were sentenced today to serve 47 months and 151 months, respectively, for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Judge N. Randy Smith of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting by designation as a district court judge, also ordered Campos and Gonzalez to serve five years of supervised release following their prison terms, and to forfeit all property used to commit the crime and proceeds derived from the crime. Gonzalez was also ordered to pay a $500 fine. Campos pleaded guilty to the charges on October 16, 2013; Gonzalez on August 29.

According to court records, an Idaho State Police trooper stopped a vehicle being driven by Gonzalez on February 12, 2013, in Bonneville County. Campos’s sister was a passenger, and both she and Gonzalez were ultimately arrested. Pursuant to a search warrant, the vehicle was searched the next day. Hidden in the dash of the vehicle, police found a white tube sock containing four baggies of methamphetamine within a larger zip lock bag. The methamphetamine totaled 95.53 grams. Police also found a handgun and loaded magazine in the glove box. Recorded calls between Campos and her sister revealed that Campos planned to get the vehicle out of police impound and recover the methamphetamine before it was discovered by law enforcement. By the time Campos recovered the vehicle, the police had already located the drugs. Gonzalez later admitted to being involved in the conspiracy for two months as the “enforcer,” who attempted to collect money owed for purchased methamphetamine.

Court records further reveal that on March 6, 2013, a probation search of Campos’s residence revealed a digital scale, two glass methamphetamine pipes, a small amount of methamphetamine, and a drug ledger.

Campos’s sister and co-defendant, Angelica Campos, pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy charge on October 23, 2013. She is scheduled to be sentenced in Pocatello on March 17, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart of the District of Utah.

The indictment was the result of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which included the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Idaho State Police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Bonneville County Sheriff's Office, Idaho Falls Police Department, Madison County Sheriff's Office, Rexburg Police Department, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Other federal agencies participating in the OCDETF program include the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

POCATELLO – U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that Julian Vega-Valdez, 25, a Mexican national, was sentenced today in federal court in Pocatello to 70 months in prison for distributing five grams or more of actual methamphetamine. He appeared today before Judge N. Randy Smith of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting by special designation as a district court judge.

Vega-Valdez pleaded guilty on August 14, 2013. According to the plea agreement, he admitted that on January 10, 2011, he met with co-defendant Josue Rodriguez-Sanchez in Idaho Falls and provided him with more than five grams of methamphetamine for distribution to other individuals.

Mexican nationals Josue Rodriguez-Sanchez, of Idaho Falls, and Fernando Garcia, of Logan, Utah, were sentenced in December 2013. Rodriguez-Sanchez was sentenced to 120 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Garcia was sentenced to 10 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute a small amount of cocaine.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), including the Idaho State Police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Bonneville County Sheriff's Office, Idaho Falls Police Department, Madison County Sheriff's Office, Rexburg Police Department, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Other federal agencies participating in the OCDETF program include the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

Judge Orders Defendant to Pay $88,390 in Restitution

POCATELLO – Barbara E. Waters, 61, of Chubbuck, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to five months in prison followed by five months of home detention and three years of supervised release for theft of government property, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Judge N. Randy Smith of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting by designation as a district court judge, also ordered Waters to pay restitution of $88,390. She pleaded guilty to the charge on August 28, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, Waters was employed as the manager of the Aid for Friends Representative Payee Program, in which the Social Security Administration sends payments for beneficiaries to Aid for Friends. Aid for Friends then administers the funds and pays for the beneficiary’s personal expenses. According to the plea agreement, Waters had signing authority on the Aid for Friends Social Security Administration trust account at Wells Fargo Bank, where all beneficiaries’ Social Security funds are deposited. Waters admitted that from January 2006 to December 2010, she wrote checks on the trust account, without authorization, for personal expenses, including cash and credit card bills totaling $82,882. Waters also agreed to pay $5,500 in audit and investigative expenses to Aid for Friends.

The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General-Office of Investigations, and the Pocatello Police Department.

BOISE – U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that Darin James Bangham, 40, of Star, Idaho, and co-defendant, Ashley Marie Armstrong, 27, of Kuna, Idaho, were sentenced this week for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Bangham this morning to 87 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty to the charge on October 21, 2013. Judge Winmill also ordered Bangham to forfeit $100,000 in proceeds of the offense and $18,400 in seized currency.

Armstrong was sentenced on Monday to 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. She pleaded guilty to the charge on October 16. Armstrong was also ordered to forfeit her interest in the seized $18,400, as well as $10,000 in proceeds of the offense.

According to court proceedings, Bangham and Armstrong conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine in the Treasure Valley. The government argued at sentencing that this conspiracy was responsible for the distribution of approximately 130 pounds of high purity methamphetamine between October 2012 and April 2013.

Two co-defendants from Eagle, Idaho, were sentenced in December 2013 to serve lengthy prison sentences: Samantha Jo Tackitt was sentenced to 151 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine; Michael Scott Longhi was sentenced to 188 months in prison. Tackitt and Longhi were each ordered to forfeit $18,400 of seized currency and $100,000 in cash proceeds to the United States.

The remaining defendant, Ausencio Gonzalez Tovar, 48, of Eagle, will be sentenced on February 3, 2014, for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Meridian Police Department, and Drug Enforcement Administration.

BOISE – Gerald Edward Massey, 56, formerly of Boise, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to bank robbery, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Massey was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise on August 14, 2013, for one count of bank robbery. He was living in Shreveport, Louisiana, at the time of his arrest in August 2013.

According to the plea agreement, Massey admitted that on March 6, 2013, he walked into a U.S. Bank branch located at 10700 Ustick Road in Boise. Massey admitted that he used intimidation to coerce the bank manager to let him into the vault. Massey took $64,500 in U.S. currency. Massey also admitted that he attempted to obstruct or impede the investigation by counseling a witness to lie to FBI agents regarding his knowledge of Massey’s crimes. Massey agreed to pay restitution of $84,627.73, an amount equal to the loss caused to U.S. Bank and the loss caused to the victims of three additional bank robberies not charged.

Massey faces up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

Sentencing is set for April 1, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Boise Police Department.

BOISE – Jordan Schoo, 34, of both Nampa and Grangeville, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to identity theft by possession of five or more false identification documents and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Schoo was charged in an 11-count indictment filed in federal court in Boise on August 14, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, Schoo admitted that on March 20, 2013, he knowingly possessed nine false and fraudulent Idaho driver’s licenses, each with his own photograph but with the identifying information of actual people, such as names, dates of birth, and driver’s license numbers. Schoo possessed a tenth false identification with a different person’s photograph. According to the plea agreement, Schoo used, and intended to use, the documents to purchase goods on credit from various businesses participating in interstate commerce, such as Best Buy.

Schoo obtained the means of identification of people he impersonated from a number of sources, including that of a former roommate from Colorado. Schoo also used the means of identification taken from his mother’s business. He used the various false identities that he possessed to purchase goods from both local and on-line retailers, including a 60” television and a car audio and security system. Schoo also obtained credit cards in the names of various victims. As part of the scheme, he opened and maintained a mailbox under a false name at a commercial mailbox store.

The charge of identity theft by possession carries a maximum prison term of five years; the charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two year prison sentence, which must run consecutively to the prison term on the identity theft by possession charge.

Sentencing is set for April 1, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

United States Attorney Wendy Olson stated that, “The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting the financial security of the citizens of Idaho and will pursue identity theft offenders and holds them accountable for the extensive damage that they cause to victims.”

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Grangeville Police Department.

BOISE – Mark A. Ciccarello, 36, of Meridian, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to count four of the indictment charging him with money laundering, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Ciccarello and four co-defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2013 on charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue; conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States; conspiracy to sell and transport drug paraphernalia; and conspiracy to launder money. Ciccarello is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

According to court proceedings, Ciccarello admitted to being a leader and organizer in a conspiracy to launder money between March 2011 and May 2013. The money laundering was related to his operation of a business called Zombie Matter. Ciccarello pleaded guilty to engaging in bank and other financial transactions through criminally derived property associated with the “spice” business. During this period, through a series of monetary transactions in amounts over $10,000, Ciccarello removed over $4.5 million in currency from three Zombie Matter accounts.

Co-defendant Robert A. Eoff, 31, and William Burr Mabry, 46, both of Boise, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Launder Money on December 17 and August 13, 2013, respectively. Eoff is set for sentencing on March 11, 2014; Mabry on March 25.

Two co-defendants, Troy L. Palmer, 43, of Boise, and Holly F. Ciccarello, 39, of Meridian, are set for trial on February 25.

The indictment is the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which included the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Boise Police Department, Meridian Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and Nampa Police Department. Other federal agencies participating in the OCEDTF program include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

BOISE — Matthew Navejar, 39, of Caldwell, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 66 months in prison for unlawfully possessing firearms and distributing methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Navejar to serve three years of supervised release and to forfeit his interest in two guns. He pleaded guilty to the charges on June 25, 2012.

According to the plea agreement, Navejar is prohibited from possessing firearms due to his 1997 conviction in Malheur County, Oregon, for manufacturing and/or possessing a destructive device. Navejar admitted that on November 21, 2011, he sold a rifle to another individual from his residence in Caldwell and assisted in the sale of a revolver. The price paid for both firearms was $165. Navejar further admitted that on November 30, 2011, he sold methamphetamine at a residence in the Nampa-Caldwell area.

The case was investigated by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force and is being prosecuted by the former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.

Defendant Ordered to Pay Restitution of $606,989 to ClickBank

BOISE – Christopher L. Myers, 37, of Cave Creek, Arizona, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Boise to 37 months in prison for wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Myers to serve three years of supervised release, fined him $7,500, and ordered him to pay $606,989 in restitution to ClickBank, which includes $449,643 that Myers admitted he fraudulently wire transferred, and $157,346 for costs incurred by ClickBank in its internal investigation. Myers pleaded guilty to the charge on August 22, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, from April 2006 through November 2011, Myers was employed by Click Sales, Inc., doing business as ClickBank. For a portion of that time he served as the company’s comptroller. Click Sales, Inc., a subsidiary of Keynetics, Inc., operated a Boise-based internet business that facilitated payments between retailers and consumers. ClickBank received payments from consumers for the purchase price of goods and services, kept a portion of the purchase price as commission, and remitted the remainder to the retailers by checks, ACH transfers and wire transfers. Some of ClickBank’s retailer-clients failed to timely cash the checks. As comptroller, Myers was responsible for tracking these “issued but uncashed” checks.

According to the plea agreement, beginning in August 2008, on 26 separate occasions Myers wire transferred funds from ClickBank’s bank account to his personal bank accounts at a different bank. The funds that were wire transferred corresponded to the “issued but uncashed” checks to ClickBank retailer-clients. In total, Myers admitted he wire transferred approximately $449,643 from ClickBank’s bank account to his own bank accounts. According to the plea agreement, Myers did so with the specific intent to defraud and used the funds for personal purchases and expenditures, including mortgage payments and personal investment and retirement accounts.

The case was investigated by the Boise Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

Defendant’s Mother and Former Husband Sentenced Last Year for Their Roles in the Scheme

POCATELLO – U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that Sarah Kate Henecke, 35, also known as Alessandra Valencia Toscanelli, of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been indicted for her role in a mortgage fraud scheme. Henecke was arrested in Nevada on December 11, 2013. She is scheduled to make her first appearance in federal court in Idaho at 11:00 a.m. on January 15, 2014, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

A federal grand jury in Boise indicted Henecke on November 13, 2013. Henecke is charged with one count of making a false statement on a residential loan application for a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guaranteed loan. The indictment alleges that Henecke, a co-borrower on the loan along with her then-husband, Darin John Henecke, misrepresented that she had employment income of $2,400 per month, when in fact she was not employed.

Darin Henecke, 37, of Pocatello, Idaho, and Sarah Henecke’s mother, Karen DeWall Shaw, 60, of Chubbuck, Idaho, pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor charge of making a false statement. They were sentenced on September 25, 2013, to five years of probation and each ordered to pay $42,905 in restitution. According to the plea agreement filed in the case, on March 13, 2009, Darin Henecke obtained a residential loan to finance the purchase of a residence in Eagle, Idaho. The loan was funded based in part on the false statement allegedly made by Sarah Henecke. Shortly after the loan was funded, it went into default and foreclosure, causing HUD to sustain a loss. When interviewed by investigators, Darin Henecke admitted that he knew false employment information was submitted to obtain the loan. Shaw admitted that she assisted in the fraud by providing false employment information in order for the borrowers to qualify for the loan.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG).

Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Five Co-Conspirators Serving Sentences Ranging from 21 Months to 35 Years

POCATELLO – U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today Juan Carlos Garcia, 36, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Garcia to serve 10 years of supervised release and pay a $3,000 fine. He pleaded guilty to the charge on August 12, 2013.

Five co-conspirators were sentenced late last year to serve lengthy prison sentences. Fausto Urias, of Idaho Falls, the leader/organizer of the criminal organization, was sentenced in October 2013 to 35 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Benito Joya, of Rigby, Idaho, was sentenced in October to 121 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Marco Antonio Echeverria, of Idaho Falls, was sentenced in December 2013 to serve 97 months in prison for distributing methamphetamine. Erica Rodriguez, of Idaho Falls, was sentenced in December to 92 months in prison for possession to with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Misti Chapman, of Idaho Falls, was sentenced in October to 21 months in prison for distribution of methamphetamine and violating a previously imposed term of supervised release.

According to plea agreements filed in the case, between November 2009 and October 23, 2012, Urias and Garcia conspired to possess and distribute methamphetamine to other individuals in the Idaho Falls area. Urias and Garcia were previously convicted of felony possession of a controlled substance in Bonneville County, Idaho, on November 9, 2004, and June 7, 2005, respectively.

“This drug trafficking organization brought significant amounts of this highly addictive drug into our communities,” said Olson. “Through the cooperative efforts of local, state and federal authorities, we have successfully dismantled this operation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners will use all lawful means to bring to justice and seek punishment for those who traffic methamphetamine in Idaho.”

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), including the Idaho State Police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Bonneville County Sheriff's Office, Idaho Falls Police Department, Madison County Sheriff's Office, Rexburg Police Department, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Other federal agencies participating in the OCDETF program include the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

Admits Aiding and Abetting Unlawful Acquisition and Transportation of
Three Mountain Lions

COEUR D’ALENE – Jacob R. Navarro, 22, of Naples, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court to a superseding information charging him with one count of aiding and abetting the unlawful acquisition and transportation of a mountain lion, a misdemeanor, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Navarro was initially indicted by a federal grand jury in Coeur d’Alene on July 16, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, Navarro admitted that on January 19 and 20, 2012, he aided and abetted the unlawful hunting and transporting of three Pumas concolors, more commonly known as mountain lions. Navarro admitted that he allowed his Idaho tag to be put on a mountain lion taken by a hunter from North Dakota.

The charge is punishable by up to one year in prison, a maximum fine of $10,000, and up to one year of supervised release, or a maximum term of five years’ probation. Navarro is set for sentencing on March 18, 2014, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

In a related case, a federal grand jury in Coeur d’Alene yesterday returned a superseding indictment charging Jacob Navarro’s father, Tod S. Navarro, 49, of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and Christopher B. Wilson, 33, of Elgin, Oregon, with Lacey Act violations. The indictment alleges that on January 19 and 20, 2012, the two defendants acquired and transported three illegally tagged mountain lions from Idaho to North Dakota. The defendants were initially charged in two separate federal indictments in July 2013.

The federal grand jury yesterday also returned a separate indictment charging Tod Navarro with making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. The indictment alleges that on November 16, 2013, Navarro represented to a licensed dealer that he was not under indictment for a felony offense.

The cases are being investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Began with Anonymous Contact on Facebook

BOISE — Jeremy E. Durkin, 35, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison, with credit for time served, for use of a facility of interstate commerce to transmit information about a minor, with the intent to entice the victim into criminal sexual activity, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Durkin to serve ten years of supervised release following his release from prison. Durkin pleaded guilty on September 19, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, the matter came to the attention of law enforcement on September 23, 2010, when, during routine cell search at the Idaho State Correctional Institution, a corrections officer found a letter on Durkin's bunk which referenced a Yahoo e-mail account. The letter, written by Durkin, referred to the intended recipient as “you sexy sixteen-year-old.” In the letter, Durkin is asking someone he referred to in the greeting as “my Love,” to keep his (Durkin’s) Yahoo e-mail account active by logging on to it once a month and deleting all incoming mail. The letter further states: “This way I wont loose [sic] all the photos have up there. I don't really want to ask anybody else cuz there is naked photos of you that I don't want anybody to see.” Department of Corrections officials referred the matter to the FBI.

The FBI identified the victim as a high school student in Oregon. When interviewed, the youth told agents that Durkin initiated contact with him in December 2009 on Facebook. The victim further stated that Durkin (whom the victim did not know prior to that time) persuaded him to call a telephone number in Idaho. The two spoke telephonically and “hit it off,” according to the youth. Durkin initially gave the youth a false name, but not long after they met online, he gave the youth his true name. According to the victim, Durkin knew the victim was 15 years old at the time.

According to the plea agreement, from December 2009 until the summer 2010 Durkin was in constant contact with the victim via e-mail, telephone and U.S. Mail. The youth described their relationship as being almost immediately romantic and sexual, and said they exchanged sexually explicit photos. A search of Durkin’s Yahoo! account confirmed these allegations. The two never met in person. Their relationship was entirely via Facebook, telephone, e-mail and U.S. Mail.

Durkin is a previously convicted sex offender. In 2005, Durkin pleaded guilty in Kootenai County, Idaho, to one count of lewd conduct with a child under age 16. He was on parole at the time the incidents occurred that resulted in the federal charge. Durkin’s parole was revoked in the summer of 2010 and he was returned to prison. He is currently serving a prison his sentence on the Kootenai County case at the Idaho Department of Correction and is scheduled for release in 2016.

The charge of use of a facility of interstate commerce to transmit information about a minor, with the intent to entice the victim into criminal sexual activity, when committed by a person with a prior sex offense conviction, is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, and up to lifetime supervised release.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Idaho Department of Correction investigated the case. Both agencies are members of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a statewide coalition of local, state and federal law enforcement and prosecution agencies, focused on apprehending and prosecuting individuals who use the Internet to criminally exploit children. For more information about the Idaho ICAC Task Force and a list of all the participating agencies, visit www.icacidaho.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

BOISE – Jason Lee Holmberg, 39, of Middleton, Idaho, Ute Hornak, 47, of Nampa, Idaho, and Patrick Siemsen, 56, of Meridian, Idaho, were sentenced today for their role in distributing methamphetamine and/or interstate travel and transportation in aid of racketeering, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. United States District Judge Edward J. Lodge sentenced Holmberg to 180 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy and interstate travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises; Siemsen was sentenced to 60 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for interstate travel and transporting drugs and money; Ute Hornak was sentenced to time-served and three years of supervised release for her role in traveling with Siemsen to transport drugs and money.

The conspiracy involved two methamphetamine distribution cells in the Treasure Valley, one led by Holmberg and the other led by Andrew Polney. Siemsen and Hornak made five or six round- trips to Sacramento, California, where co-defendant Kenneth Jones supplied them each time with multiple pound shipments of methamphetamine to transport for Holmberg in the Nampa-Caldwell area, and to Polney in Boise. The group operated from about June 2012 through the time of their arrests on April 18, 2013.

Fourteen other defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing in January 2014: Andrew Polney, Kenneth Jones, Doreen O’Brien, Jerry Holmberg, John Odenwalt, Randi Seferos, Crystal Clark, Lena Kettle, Steven Richard, Robbie Gallegos, Adrea Smith, Randy Beal, Heidi Aguilar, and Cynthia Prado. Three other defendants are scheduled for trial in January 2014.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Task Force, which includes agents of the DEA as well as task force officers from Nampa Police Department.

BOISE – U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that two co-defendants—Samthana Jo Tackitt and Michael Scott Longhi—were sentenced to serve lengthy federal prison sentences for their involvement in a large scale Treasure Valley meth trafficking operation. The defendants appeared this week for sentencing before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

Samantha Jo Tackitt, 31, of Eagle, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to 151 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Michael Scott Longhi, 26, also of Eagle, was sentenced today to 188 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Judge Winmill ordered Tackitt and Longhi to forfeit $18,400 of seized currency and $100,000 in cash proceeds to the United States.

According to court proceedings, Tackitt was arrested on April 3, 2013, in possession of 1.5 kilograms of pure methamphetamine and $5,062 in U.S. currency. That same day, Longhi was arrested as he was returning from California, where he had just received a large shipment of high-grade methamphetamine. He was found to be in possession of 1.7 kilograms of pure methamphetamine and approximately $3,000 in U.S. currency. The government argued at sentencing that lengthy prison sentences were warranted due to the large amounts of pure methamphetamine that Tackitt and Longhi conspired to distribute in the Treasure Valley. Further, the two were responsible for distributing over 100 pounds of methamphetamine during the conspiracy. The government also noted at sentencing that Tackitt had bragged about wanting to be “the biggest methamphetamine dealer in the Valley.”

In addition to Tackitt and Longhi, three other individuals charged in the federal indictment, pleaded guilty to related drug trafficking offenses. Ausencio Tovar, 48, of Eagle, Idaho, will be sentenced on February 3, 2014, for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine; Darin James Bangham, 40, of Star, Idaho, will be sentenced on January 8, 2014, for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine; and Ashley Marie Armstrong, 27, will be sentenced on January 6, 2014, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

The case is being investigated by the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Meridian Police Department, and Drug Enforcement Administration.

BOISE – Today, in United States District Court, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, sentenced Mark Anthony Brown, 53, an inmate at the Idaho Correctional Center, on two counts of mail fraud, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Judge Winmill sentenced Brown to 33 months of prison, three years of supervised release following his confinement, restitution of $59,679.92 and forfeiture of the same amount, which was previously seized from Brown’s accounts. The court also ordered forfeiture of Brown’s typewriter, which he used to commit the crime. Judge Winmill also ordered the prison portion of the sentence to run consecutively to the state prison sentence that Brown is currently serving. Brown was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise on March 12, 2013. He pleaded guilty to the charges on August 22, 2013.

According to court documents, from September 2007 to February 28, 2013, Brown devised a scheme to fraudulently obtain money from various class action lawsuits and large-scale bankruptcies. According to the plea agreement, Brown submitted numerous claim forms in which he falsely represented himself as a class member or creditor. He then mailed the claim forms to administrators of the settlements in order to receive settlement proceeds, and deposited the proceeds he received into his Idaho Department of Correction trust account, and into several different investment accounts, all through the use of the United States Mail. The plea agreement details 22 different settlements and litigations which Brown defrauded, ranging from $20 to $29,528.50.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service with the cooperation of the Idaho Department of Correction.

Ordered to Pay $75,594 in Restitution for Misappropriating Controlled Substances

COEUR D’ALENE — Steven R. Milot, 66, of Kellogg, Idaho, was sentenced to three years’ probation for wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Milot to pay $75,594 in restitution and perform 100 hours of community service.

Milot was employed as a pharmacist at Osburn Drug in Kellogg for many years. In 2012, video surveillance recorded Milot misappropriating controlled substances. Idaho State Police executed a search warrant at Milot’s residence and found large quantities of various controlled substances that were not prescribed to him.

Milot pleaded guilty to the charge on August 20, 2013. In court, Milot admitted misappropriating controlled substances from Osburn Drug for three to four years and maintained that he personally used all of the controlled substances he took. A pill audit revealed that 1,817 Oxycodone IR five milligram tablets, 6,098 OxyContin forty milligram tablets, 580 sixty milligram OxyContin tablets, and 2,356 OxyContin eighty milligram tablets were missing, among others. Milot ordered the controlled substances via wire transmissions to avoid detection. Milot’s criminal activities caused restitution due and owing of $75,594 to Osburn Drug.

The case was investigated by the Idaho State Police, the Tactical Diversion Group of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Shoshone County Prosecutor’s Office.

COEUR D’ALENE — Anthony Jerald Brown, 29, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, was sentenced today on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge sentenced Brown to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. As part of his sentence, Brown was ordered to forfeit $10,000 in illegal drug proceeds. During his community release, Brown will be required to report to a federal supervision officer and allow law enforcement to search his person, home and automobile upon demand. Brown will also be required to be employed or in school full-time and to report for drug testing.

Brown pleaded guilty to the charge on September 4, 2013. At the plea hearing, Brown admitted to buying and selling between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine from June 2011 until May 2012.

The case is the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by the North Idaho Violent Crime Task Force, a Federal Bureau of Investigation sponsored Safe Streets Task Force comprised of law enforcement from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Coeur d’Alene City Police Department, Post Falls Police Department, Idaho State Police, Bonner County Sheriff's Office, Shoshone County Sheriff's Office, and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. Federal task force members include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Marshals Service.

BOISE — Martin Daniel Atkins, Jr., 30, of Owyhee, Nevada, was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for failure to register as a sex offender, and for violating his supervised release on a prior conviction for the same offense, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. He pleaded guilty on July 17, 2013.

According to court documents, Atkins was required to register as a sex offender because of his guilty plea in 2005 to two counts of sexual abuse of minor, involving children from the Duck Valley Indian Reservation. Upon his release from prison, Atkins began the registration process and reported that he was living at his stepmother's home on the Idaho side of the Duck Valley reservation. Investigators learned that Atkins had moved to Nevada and was later employed in Arizona and had failed to notify authorities. He pleaded guilty in 2011 to failing to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

Upon his release from custody in January 2013, Atkins returned to the Duck Valley reservation. He registered as a sex offender with the Elko County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada and reported that he would be living with his aunt. In late February 2013, federal probation officers went to Atkins’ aunt’s home and learned that he had not stayed there since he returned to the reservation. U.S. Marshals Service located Atkins in March and arrested him. He had been living at another location on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation.

Atkins was prosecuted for violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), which was passed by Congress in 2006. The Act requires sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction where they reside, are employed or are students. Violations of SORNA are prosecuted in federal court.

BOISE – Skinner “Skip” Anderson, II, 57, of Boise, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to one count of misprision of a felony, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Anderson appeared today before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale at the federal courthouse in Boise.

At his change of plea hearing, Anderson admitted to having knowledge of an illegal gambling operation that was being run out of a house he owns located at 6655 W. Victory Road in Boise. Anderson further admitted to taking steps to conceal the illegal gambling operation and not reporting it to the proper authorities.

Anderson faces up to three years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and not more than one year of supervised release. In a separate civil proceeding, the United States is seeking forfeiture of the residence where the illegal gambling operation occurred.

Sentencing is set for February 18, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.

This case was investigated by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crime Task Force. The task force is comprised of federal, state, and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boise Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Caldwell Police Department, Nampa Police Department, Meridian Police Department, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Idaho Department of Correction. The Metro Task Force was assisted by Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.

Judge Lodge Reinstates Previous Order

BOISE — Convicted child murderer Joseph Edward Duncan, III, was found competent to waive his appeal in November 2008 after a federal jury sentenced him to death in August 2008 for the kidnapping and murder of a nine-year-old north Idaho boy. United States District Court Judge Edward J. Lodge issued his 66-page order finding Duncan competent today. The order followed a six week retrospective competency hearing conducted by Judge Lodge in January and February of this year.

In July of 2011, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals remanded this case to the district court for a hearing to determine whether defendant Joseph Edward Duncan, III, competently waived his right to appeal in November 2008. That decision followed a filing in the Ninth Circuit by Duncan’s then-defense counsel. The defendant, who was representing himself at the time, indicated in both a letter to this Court and in a November 24, 2008, hearing that he did not wish to appeal. On August 27, 2008, a federal capital sentencing jury had returned three death sentence verdicts for the defendant’s intentional murder of the nine-year-old boy, D.G. Judge Lodge, as required by law, imposed those sentences. On November 13, 2008, Judge Lodge also imposed other, non-capital sentences for federal crimes committed from April through July of 2005, including sexual assault of a then-eight-year-old north Idaho girl.

“The United States is pleased with this careful, considered decision,” said U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson. “As we argued to the Court at the hearing, this defendant demonstrated his competency from the time he meticulous planned his crimes in North Dakota, to the time he carried them out in Idaho and Montana, through his participation in the capital sentencing hearing and in post-hearing interviews with FBI agents. We will continue to defend Judge Lodge’s deliberate and thorough consideration of the defendant’s competency just as we will continue to seek justice for the victims in this case through any additional appellate proceedings. The kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of this nine-year-old boy and the kidnapping and sexual assault of his sister were heinous crimes and a tragic chapter for all Idahoans, but for the sake of the surviving victim and her family, we need to bring it to a close.”

POCATELLO – U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that Josue Rodriguez-Sanchez, 25, of Idaho Falls, and co-defendant Fernando Garcia, 31, of Logan, Utah, were sentenced this week in United States District Court for violating federal drug laws.

Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Rodriguez-Sanchez on Tuesday to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty to the charge on August 14, 2013.

U.S. District Judge Brian Ted Stewart of the District of Utah sentenced Garcia today to 10 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute a small amount of cocaine. He pleaded guilty on September 20.

According to plea agreements filed in the case, Rodriguez-Sanchez admitted that between November 29, 2010, and January 25, 2011, he distributed cocaine and methamphetamine in the Idaho Falls area. He further admitted that in total he distributed more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and that he received the narcotics from various co-defendants. Garcia admitted that on April 22, 2011, he arranged to sell and subsequently delivered cocaine to an individual in Idaho Falls, Idaho, for $1,150.

The remaining co-defendant, Julian Vega-Valdez, 25, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty on August 14 to distributing five grams or more of actual methamphetamine. According to the plea agreement, Vega-Valdez admitted that on January 10, 2011, he met with Rodriguez-Sanchez in Idaho Falls and provided him with more than five grams of methamphetamine for distribution to other individuals. Vega-Valdez is scheduled to be sentenced on January 13, 2014, before the Hon. N. Randy Smith, Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), including the Idaho State Police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Bonneville County Sheriff's Office, Idaho Falls Police Department, Madison County Sheriff's Office, Rexburg Police Department, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Other federal agencies participating in the OCDETF program include the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

POCATELLO – Two members of an Eastern Idaho drug trafficking organization were sentenced in United States District Court this week, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Three co-conspirators were sentenced in October 2013 to serve a combined total of over 46 years in federal prison.

Erica Rodriguez, 33, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was sentenced on Monday to 92 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possession to with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Rodriguez to pay a $750 fine. She pleaded guilty on August 13.

Marco Antonio Echeverria, 25, also of Idaho Falls, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Brian Ted Stewart to 97 months in prison for distributing methamphetamine. Echeverria was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release and pay a $1,000 fine. He pleaded guilty on August 29.

Co-defendant Fausto Urias, of Idaho Falls, was sentenced earlier to 35 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. He was also ordered to forfeit $100,000 and pay a $5,000 fine. Urias’ lengthy prison sentence was the result of the court finding him responsible for a significant amount of methamphetamine; he was the leader/organizer of a criminal organization; he possessed guns in connection with the offense, and he used violence and threats of violence in carrying out the offense. Co-defendant Benito Joya, of Rigby Idaho, was sentenced to 121 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Co-defendant Misti Chapman, also of Idaho Falls, was sentenced to 21 months in prison for distribution of methamphetamine and violating a previously imposed term of supervised release.

The remaining defendant, Juan Carlos Garcia, 36, of Idaho Falls, will be sentenced on December 16 for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.

According to plea agreements filed in the case, between November 2009 and October 23, 2012, Urias and Garcia conspired to possess and distribute methamphetamine to other individuals in the Idaho Falls area. Garcia made arrangements with an individual to purchase methamphetamine and directed that person to a location in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where he met with Echeverria. According to the plea agreement, Echeverria told the individual that Garcia had asked him to handle the transaction; the following day Echeverria provided the individual with methamphetamine. In April 2012, during a traffic stop, Idaho State Police found more than 50 grams of actual methamphetamine Rodriguez was hiding on her person. According to the plea agreement, Rodriguez admitted she possessed the methamphetamine intending to distribute it to others.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), including the Idaho State Police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Bonneville County Sheriff's Office, Idaho Falls Police Department, Madison County Sheriff's Office, Rexburg Police Department, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Other federal agencies participating in the OCDETF program include the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

POCATELLO – Isidoro David Herrera, 32, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was sentenced in United States District Court today to 100 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 50 grams of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Brian Ted Stewart of the District of Utah also sentenced Herrera to five years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to the charge on January 24, 2013. Herrera is the thirteenth defendant sentenced in the case. The remaining defendant, Guadalupe Meraz, 42, of Madera, California, is a fugitive.

According to plea agreements filed in the case, from June 2005 through January 2012, a group of individuals centered around co-defendant Samuel Nevarez-Ayon entered into a conspiracy to possess and distribute in excess of 50 grams of actual methamphetamine in the Idaho Falls area. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Nevarez-Ayon admitted that he distributed methamphetamine to other individuals on at least three occasions during this same time period. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Nevarez-Ayon directed activities of various co-defendants, including Herrera. In addition to distributing methamphetamine, several defendants laundered proceeds from the sale of the methamphetamine, and made false loan application to local banks to further the laundering of money. During the course of the conspiracy, the defendants obtained in excess of $500,000 from the distribution of methamphetamine.

Defendants sentenced to date include:

• Samuel Nevarez-Ayon, 27, of Rexburg, Idaho, to 292 months in prison for continuing criminal enterprise, $500,000 forfeiture, and $4,000 fine;
• Ricardo Garcia Lopez, 36, of Idaho Falls, to 235 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, five years of supervised release, and $1,000 fine;
• Alberto Abarca, 23, of Idaho Falls, to 130 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and five years of supervised release;
• Juan Ortiz, Jr., 29, of Shelley, Idaho, to 120 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, five years of supervised release and $1,000 fine;
• Antonio Javier Mendoza, 29, of Shelley, to 96 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, five years of supervised release, and $1,000 fine;
• Daniel Quiroz, 26, a Mexican national, to 78 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, five years of supervised release, $500 fine;
• Nicolas Levi Olsen, 30, of Idaho Falls, to 60 months in prison for aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, five years of supervised release, and $500 fine;
• Everado Tapia Torres, Jr., 31, of Idaho Falls, to 54 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine, and four years of supervised release;
• Rafael Ignacio Guerrero, 38, a Mexican national, to 42 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, deportation;
• Fabiola Esmerelda Marin-Castro, 27, a Mexican national, to 36 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, $300 fine, and forfeit $83,575 and two vehicles;
• Ana Rosa Valdez-Ceja, 27, of Shelley, to two years of probation for money laundering; and
• Abel Garcia, 25, of Idaho Falls, to one month in prison for false statement to a bank.

The charges were the result of a nine-month investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), including the Idaho State Police, Bonneville County Sheriff's Office, Idaho Falls Police Department, Madison County Sheriff's Office, Rexburg Police Department, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Other federal agencies participating in the OCDETF program include the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

POCATELLO – James Argyle Merrill, 38, and Dalyn Ray Pfeaster, 46, both of Pocatello, were sentenced today in federal court for distributing methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Brian Ted Stewart of the District of Utah sentenced Merrill to 36 months and Pfeaster to four months in prison. Both will serve three years of supervised release following their prison sentence. The defendants pleaded guilty to the charge on August 28, 2013.

According to plea agreements filed in the case, on January 23, 2013, Merrill delivered methamphetamine to an individual at a parking lot in Bingham County. On January 8, 2013, Pfeaster delivered methamphetamine to an individual in Pocatello. The defendants admitted to knowing the substance they delivered to the individuals was methamphetamine.

On Monday, co-defendant Kyle Mark Ross, 28, of Pocatello, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill to a period of time served and three years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by the Idaho State Police.

Defendant and Four Others Indicted in 2012 in Nationwide Law Enforcement Action

POCATELLO – Joshua P. Becker, 33, of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Pocatello to 48 months in prison for conspiracy to launder money, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Brian Ted Stewart of the District of Utah also ordered Becker to serve three years of supervised release, pay a $500 fine, and forfeit assets involved in the criminal activity. Becker pleaded guilty to the charge on May 30, 2013.

In October 2013, co-defendants Gary E. Nagel, 46, and Joshua Cserepes, 27, of Twin Falls, Idaho, and Shyloh Becker, 29, of Portland, Oregon, were each sentenced to 36 months’ probation and fined $500 for related charges, including possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance analogue, conspiracy to sell drug paraphernalia, and aiding and abetting in a monetary transaction in property derived from specified unlawful activity, respectively.

Co-defendant Allen W. Nagel, 44, of Twin Falls, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 3, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Pocatello. He pleaded guilty in June 2013, to conspiracy to launder money.

According to court documents, between March 1, 2011, and June 25, 2012, Allen Nagel owned and operated A & J Distribution with other individuals, including co-defendant Joshua Becker. During this time, A & J Distribution distributed brands of smokeable material for further sale, commonly referred to as “spice,” under the “Hayze” label. This material contained 5-:fluoro-RR-144 (XLR11), a Schedule I controlled substance analogue, which Allen Nagel admitted he knew was intended for human consumption. Nagel and Becker received money from the sale of the material and engaged in monetary transactions using the funds derived from the illegal sales. The transactions, some in excess of $10,000, included transfers, withdrawals, and deposits through a Twin Falls bank.

Fourteen search warrants were executed in July 2012 by law enforcement agencies at 11 locations in Twin Falls County, and three locations in Tigard, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. The warrants were related to a nationwide law enforcement action against the synthetic designer drug industry responsible for the production and sale of dangerous and deadly drugs that are often marketed as bath salts, “spice,” incense, or plant food, which are prohibited under the federal controlled substance analogue statute. Operation Log Jam targeted every level of the synthetic drug industry, including retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers, in more than 80 U.S. cities.

The joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), is led by the Drug Enforcement Administration in conjunction with Twin Falls City Police Department, Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Idaho State Police, Ada County Sheriff's Office, Nampa City Police Department, Meridian City Police Department, Gooding County Sheriff's Office, Cassia County Sheriff's Office, and Minidoka County Sheriff's Office.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

Defendant Will Pay Over $1.4 Million in Restitution for Conspiring to File False Claims for IRS Tax Refunds

POCATELLO – Lawrence Sikutwa, 34, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 21 months in prison for conspiracy to file false claims for a refund, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Sikutwa to serve three years of supervised release and pay $1,466,799 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. He pleaded guilty to the charge on August 28, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, Sikutwa operated a tax preparation business in Dallas. He entered into an agreement with various co-conspirators in Pocatello and elsewhere to solicit clients for him. The co-conspirators contacted persons who needed tax preparation services, obtained their tax documents from them, and then shipped the information to Sikutwa to prepare the tax returns. Sikutwa added false dependents and false income, falsely claimed head-of-household status, and made other entries to increase the amount of the refund. According to the plea agreement, Sikutwa distributed a small portion of the actual refund to the taxpayer, representing it was the entire refund, and failed to provide copies of the returns to the taxpayers. Sikutwa admitted that he was aware the tax returns were false.

According to the plea agreement, during 2006, Sikutwa filed 168 tax returns for tax year 2005, resulting in refunds of $654,368. In 2007, he filed 124 tax returns for tax year 2006, resulting in refunds of $588,982. Under the name of Harris Tax Services, Sikutwa prepared and filed 99 returns for tax year 2007, resulting in refunds of $456,888.

The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.

BOISE – Steven Ray Hemenway, 47, of Payette, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to possessing sexually explicit images of minors, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, in December 2012, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a residence in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The individual at that residence confessed to distributing images of child pornography via his e-mail account. Investigators reviewed the account and developed information that the Canadian subject had sent images and videos of child pornography to an e-mail account associated with Hemenway. In February 2013, federal agents executed a search warrant at Hemenway’s home in Payette and seized his computer. During an interview with investigators, Hemenway admitted that he had been receiving child pornography via the Internet for several years, according to the plea agreement. He also told agents that he had e-mailed between 100 and 500 images of child pornography to approximately ten other e-mail accounts during the previous year.

The images and videos recovered from Hemenway’s computer confirmed that the user had been receiving and distributing child pornography, including sexually explicit material depicting prepubescent minors.

The material was sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) for comparison with previously identified victims of abuse. According to NCMEC, among the images found on Hemenway’s computer were previously known victims from North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, Missouri, Connecticut, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Canada, United Kingdom, Ukraine, France and Belgium.

The charge is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and five years to lifetime supervised release.

Sentencing is set for February 25, 2014, before U.S. District Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

BOISE – Bobbi Eileen Woolsey, 35, of Boise, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

A federal grand jury indicted Woolsey and ten other defendants on July 9, 2013. The superseding indictment alleges that Woolsey and ten other co-conspirators agreed to distribute methamphetamine. It also alleges that several co-conspirators distributed methamphetamine, unlawfully possessed firearms, and brandished and discharged a firearm in furtherance of the drug conspiracy.

Woolsey is scheduled to be sentenced on February 25, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise. Three other defendants have pleaded guilty and are set for sentencing on February 24, 2013.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine is punishable by up to life imprisonment, a maximum fine of $10 million, and a minimum term of five years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Nampa Police Department, and the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crime Task Force. The task force is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Boise Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Caldwell Police Department, Nampa Police Department, Meridian Police Department, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Idaho Department of Probation and Parole.

The case is being prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.

POCATELLO – Lyle Plentywounds, Sr., 58, of Pocatello, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to assaulting an officer, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, on May 2, 2013, a Fort Hall Police officer responded to a report that Plentywounds was intoxicated and creating a disturbance at a residence on the reservation. After making contact and determining that Plentywounds was in fact intoxicated, the officer attempted to gain entry to the residence but was blocked by the defendant. Plentywounds told the officer he was a martial artist and an ex-convict and that he “hated cops. He then kicked the officer in the chest. When the officer attempted to arrest him, Plentywounds struck him in the face with his hand.

The charge of assault on an officer is punishable by up to eight years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

Plentywounds is scheduled to be sentenced on February 18, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department.

POCATELLO — A federal grand jury in Pocatello today returned a superseding indictment charging California residents Reynalda Estrada-Gutierrez, 37, of Bakersfield; Porfirio Gutierrez, 36, of Los Angeles; Araxy Suarez, 21, of Downey; and Raquel Rios, 23, and Angelina Nava, 31, both of Burley, Idaho, on six counts of drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. All but Suarez were also charged with conspiring to launder money. Estrada-Gutierrez was additionally charged with unlawfully possessing a handgun.

The defendants were arrested on November 6, 2013; four are in custody on state charges. The indictment alleges that between April 19, 2013, and November 6, 2013, the defendants conspired to distribute and possessed with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. The indictment also alleges that Estrada-Gutierrez, Rios, and Gutierrez collectively distributed methamphetamine on three occasions, and that Gutierrez, Suarez, and Nava possessed with the intent to deliver methamphetamine on the date of their arrest. Also between April 19 and November 6, 2013, all but Suarez are alleged to have conspired to conduct financial transactions affecting interstate and foreign commerce and involving the proceeds of drug trafficking activities, with the intent to further the drug trafficking and to conceal the source of the money.

Federal drug trafficking charges are generally punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $1 million, and three years of supervised release. Where the defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, they face a minimum term of ten years, up to life, in prison, a fine up to $10 million, and a minimum of five years supervised release. Money laundering is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $500,000, and up to three years of supervised release. Unlawful possession of a firearm is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. The government is seeking forfeiture of assets derived from and involved in the criminal conduct.

A trial is set for December 30, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

The charges are the result of a joint investigation by the Minidoka and Cassia County Sheriffs’ Offices and Idaho State Police, with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOISE — Patrick S. Baker, 50, of Caldwell, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to possessing obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, officers from the Nampa Police Department responded to the Hilton Inn in Nampa, Idaho, on March 14, 2013, in response to a request from hotel management to remove a guest who had overstayed the contracted time. Officers discovered Baker in the room. He had checked in the previous night and used the hotel’s wireless Internet service to download child erotica and at least 36 realistic-looking animated images depicting prepubescent minor females engaged in various sexual acts with adults, according to the plea agreement. Investigators also found several images of minor females, most approximately ages 3 to 12 years, in various kinds of dress, posing in ways to bring attention to their genital or pubic area. Baker admitted that he had downloaded the images and that he had an addiction to pornography, including adults and children.

The charge is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

Baker is set for sentencing on February 3, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by the Nampa Police Department, an affiliate of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC). The ICAC is a statewide coalition of local, state and federal law enforcement and prosecution agencies, focused on apprehending and prosecuting individuals who use the Internet to criminally exploit children. For more information about the Idaho ICAC Task Force and a list of all the participating agencies, visit www.icacidaho.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

POCATELLO – Clayton Amos Lossing, 53, of McDermitt, Nevada, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to the indictment charging him with one count of assaulting an officer, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Lossing was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pocatello on July 23, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, on May 5, 2013, Lossing was arrested for intoxication by Fort Hall Police and transported to the Fort Hall Correction Center. During the booking process, Lossing kneed an officer in the groin, causing the officer significant pain requiring medical attention.

The charge of assault on an officer is punishable by up to eight years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

Lossing is scheduled to be sentenced on January 29, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department.

POCATELLO – Sammy Joe Aguirre, 26, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, on March 21, 2013, law enforcement officers observed Aguirre traveling from Idaho Falls to Rupert, Idaho, where he obtained approximately one pound of methamphetamine. While transporting the methamphetamine back to eastern Idaho, Aguirre’s vehicle was stopped, he was arrested and law enforcement seized the methamphetamine. Aguirre admitted in court that he obtained the methamphetamine with the intention of distributing it to others.

Aguirre is scheduled to be sentenced on January 29, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

Aguirre’s co-defendant, Emilio Martinez, 31, of Rigby, Idaho, pleaded guilty on October 16, 2013, to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to the plea agreement, on February 26, 2013, during execution of a search warrant at a residence in Bonneville County, officers found Martinez in possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 3, 2014.

Aguirre and Martinez face up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $1 million, and at least three years of supervised release.

The case is the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by the Idaho State Police, with assistance from the Idaho Falls Police Department and Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office. Other federal agencies participating in the OCEDTF program include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

BOISE – Simona Rus, 36, of Ketchum, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to unlawful procurement of United States Citizenship based on her fraudulent marriage to a United States citizen, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement filed in the case, Rus admitted that, in 2003, she married a U.S. citizen for the sole purpose of obtaining immigration benefits. Rus never resided with her spouse as husband and wife. In January of 2009, Rus misrepresented the nature of her marriage in an application for naturalization to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In May of 2009, USCIS granted Rus naturalization as a United States citizen as a result of her fraudulent marriage. As part of her plea agreement, Rus stipulated to an order revoking her citizenship.

Rus faces up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release, in addition to administrative removal proceedings.

Rus is scheduled to be sentenced on February 10, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

COEUR D’ALENE – U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that Justin William Russell, 27, of Sandpoint, and Michael Alan Briggs, 43, of Hayden, were sentenced for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The defendants appeared before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

Russell was sentenced today to serve 89 months in prison and fined $1,000. Briggs was sentenced on Tuesday to serve 87 months. Judge Lodge ordered each defendant to serve five years of supervised release following their prison term and forfeit at least $10,000, which represents the proceeds derived from the offense conduct.

According to court documents, Russell and Briggs pleaded guilty on August 20 and June 24, 2013, respectively, to count one of the federal indictment filed on March 19, 2013. The defendants admitted that from May 2011 to at least December 2011, they conspired together and with other individuals to possess and distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The evidence showed that Briggs received his methamphetamine from Russell until Russell was arrested, and then moved on to another supplier. Both individuals sold their methamphetamine in the Coeur d’Alene area.

The case is the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by the North Idaho Violent Crime Task Force, a Federal Bureau of Investigation sponsored Safe Streets Task Force comprised of law enforcement from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Coeur d’Alene City Police Department, Post Falls Police Department, Idaho State Police, Bonner County Sheriff's Office, Shoshone County Sheriff's Office, and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. Federal task force members include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Marshals Service.

COEUR D’ALENE – Vanessa Louise Wagner, 30, of Plummer, Idaho, was sentenced today to 90 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Wagner to forfeit $5,600. She pleaded guilty to the charge on July 22, 2013.

According to court documents, Wagner admitted that between December 4, 2012, and January 8, 2013, she conspired with Gibson to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Wagner admitted that she knew the substance was methamphetamine and she knowingly distributed it.

Charles Edward Gibson, 43, of Spokane, Washington, was sentenced on October 22 to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. According to the plea agreement, Gibson admitted that between December 4, 2012, and January 8, 2013, he distributed to an undercover officer and received payment for at least 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. It was later determined the street value of the methamphetamine was at least $35,000. Gibson was ordered to forfeit $35,000, which represents the proceeds derived from the criminal conduct.

“Vanessa Wagner and Charles Gibson will each serve lengthy federal prison sentences as punishment for bringing methamphetamine into our communities,” said Olson. “Methamphetamine is highly addictive and brings great tragedy to those who use it. We will continue to aggressively prosecute those who seek to profit from his horrific and illegal substance. I commend the cooperative law enforcement effort that brought this case to a successful conclusion.”

“Methamphetamine is an insidious, addictive drug that ruins lives and threatens our communities,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Matthew G. Barnes. “This investigation is another fine example of the outstanding partnerships that have been forged between agencies who are committed to the keeping our communities safe.”

The case was jointly investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Idaho State Police, Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police and Plummer Police Department.

BOISE – Keanta M. Lathrop, 35, of Nampa, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 47 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for unlawfully possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Lathrop to forfeit the firearm he unlawfully possessed. He pleaded guilty to the charge on August 22, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, court records show that Lathrop pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine in Ada County and was sentenced on May 23, 2007, to six years in prison. Lathrop was later granted parole and released from prison. As a condition of release, Lathrop agreed to searches of his person or property. In October 2012, a search was conducted of Lathrop’s Nampa residence by Nampa police and Lathrop’s parole officer. The officers discovered a Jimenez Arms .380 semiautomatic pistol inside a backpack at the residence. Lathrop was present during the search and subsequently admitted that his fingerprints were on the weapon and he knowingly possessed the firearm. Because Lathrop was previously convicted of the felony offense of trafficking cocaine, he is prohibited from possessing firearms.

The case was investigated by the Nampa Police Department, Idaho Department of Probation and Parole, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Lathrop is being prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.

COEUR D’ALENE – Kalum McPhedran, 29, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to eight months in prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered McPhedran to serve three years of supervised release and to forfeit the firearm he unlawfully possessed. He pleaded guilty to the charge on August 20, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, McPhedran admitted that on January 15, 2013, he unlawfully possessed a Remington 12 gauge shotgun, knowing that he was prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior felony conviction in 2010 for possession of a controlled substance.

The case was investigated by the North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force (NIVCTF). NIVCTF members include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Idaho State Police, Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, Shoshone County Sheriff's Office, Bonner County Sheriff's Office, Coeur d'Alene Police Department, Post Falls Police Department, and Coeur d'Alene Tribal Police. The NIVCTF investigates a myriad of violent crimes, including armed robbery, kidnapping, felonious assault and drug trafficking.

The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.

COEUR D’ALENE – James Reuben Norton Blackeagle, 30, of Kamiah, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 21 months in prison for unlawfully possessing ammunition, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Blackeagle to serve three years of supervised release and forfeit the ammunition he unlawfully possessed. He pleaded guilty to the charge on August 21, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, Blackeagle admitted that on February 28, 2013, he possessed ammunition within his residence and vehicle. Blackeagle was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to a previous conviction in 2007 for possession of a destructive device, a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Nez Perce Tribal Police Department.

The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.

BOISE — U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced that Mark Alan Saltzer, 46, of Boise, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 360 months in prison, with credit for time served. Saltzer pleaded guilty in July 2013 to sexual exploitation of children by producing sexually explicit images of minors. In his plea agreement, Saltzer admitted producing sexually explicit videos of 11 different minors between April 2006 and April 2012. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Saltzer to be on supervised release for 20 years and pay a $10,000 fine. Prior to sentencing, Saltzer paid $50,000 in lieu of forfeiting his home, where the offense occurred.

Saltzer was arrested on August 17, 2012, at his home after federal investigators served a search warrant. Two minor boys, who were not related to Saltzer, were at the residence at the time. According to the plea agreement, Saltzer admitted to repeatedly sexually molesting one of the youths at his home beginning in the summer of 2012. It was disclosed during the sentencing proceedings that Saltzer was aware that the youth was a previous victim of sexual abuse and was at high risk to become victimized again. Saltzer was a counselor at Meridian Middle School when he met the youth. During the hearing it was also disclosed that Saltzer admitted to having five previous hands-on victims with ages ranging from 13 to 17 years, the first occurring when Saltzer was 21. Saltzer previously worked as a counselor in the Marsing and Caldwell school districts, and also as a counselor for sex offenders and victims of abuse at the Idaho Youth Ranch and at a treatment program in Ontario, Oregon.

According to court documents, the investigation into Saltzer’s activities began in October 2010, when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, in conjunction with Toronto Police Services in Canada, initiated an investigation into a private Internet group established by members to communicate with one another about their shared sexual interest in young boys, and to exchange child pornography. Members of the group regularly traded child pornography files with other group members.

The group existed under various names for approximately 15 years. According to court documents, Saltzer had been a member of the group for more than a decade. Participants in the group resided in Idaho, New York, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Indiana, California, Pennsylvania, Canada, Lebanon, and Mexico, among other places.

According to the plea agreement, Saltzer admitted meeting boys between the ages of 10 and 17 in Internet chat rooms and engaging them in webcam sessions during which he encouraged them to masturbate. Saltzer used Skype and recorded webcam footage of the teenage boys performing sexual acts. He further admitted to using special software that allowed him to import a video of a child about 14 years old masturbating, and showing the video to the boy so it appeared that he was chatting with another teenager, instead of an adult.

According to the plea agreement, Saltzer also admitted that between 2006 and 2012, he produced sexually explicit videos of numerous boys between the ages of 11 and 17. Some of the videos he produced were distributed worldwide, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

“Those who victimize children by producing and distributing images of children being sexually abused will be identified, investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Olson. “When it comes to crimes that target society’s most vulnerable members, we will not let boundaries or agency affiliation interfere with the work that must be done. Mr. Saltzer’s prison sentence sends the strong message that local, state, federal and international law enforcement agencies will work together in an efficient and coordinated manner to bring these predators to justice.”

The case was investigated by U.S. Postal Inspection Service inspectors from Boise, Seattle and Washington, D.C., and the Indiana State Police. The Boise Police Department, Meridian Police Department, and Idaho State Police assisted locally. Saltzer was originally charged by the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney; those charges were dismissed in August after Saltzer pleaded guilty in federal court.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

BOISE — U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that her office’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit has resolved a claim for fire suppression costs without filing a lawsuit. The U.S. Attorney’s Office collected $168,596 for costs of suppressing a fire near Ten Mile Creek in Lemhi County, Idaho. The fire, known as the “Ten Mile Fire,” started on July 18, 2012, on land owned by Jeffrey and Paula Kerner, who regularly reside in Wadsworth, Illinois. Mr. Kerner was shooting at an exploding target on a ninety-five degree day when the target blew apart and ignited the fire, which spread and threatened at least two homes and burned 440 acres of federal land.

The United States owns, manages, and administers various parcels of public lands through the Bureau of Land Management and the United States Forest Service. Both agencies suppress uncontrolled wildfires within their jurisdiction pursuant to mutual aid and cooperative agreements. The money collected will reimburse the agencies for funds expended.

“We are pleased to be able to recover more than $168,500 for future fire suppression efforts,” said Olson. “We will continue to make strong efforts to ensure that in appropriate cases private parties who cause fires reimburse the taxpayers for putting out fires on federally managed land.”

BOISE – Timothy Alan Butterbaugh, 46, of Nampa, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of distributing methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Butterbaugh was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise on September 10, 2013, charged with four counts of distributing methamphetamine.

According to the plea agreement, an individual working with law enforcement provided information that Butterbaugh was selling methamphetamine. On June 27, 2013, the individual contacted Butterbaugh to arrange to purchase a “quarter.” Later that day, at an agreed upon location in Nampa, Butterbaugh sold the individual one-quarter ounce of methamphetamine for $400. Following the meeting, the individual gave the methamphetamine to law enforcement agents who had conducted surveillance before and during the transaction. Testing by the Drug Enforcement Administration laboratory determined the substance to be 98.8% pure and contained 6.8 grams of actual methamphetamine. Butterbaugh was arrested at his residence on August 28, 2013, during execution of a search warrant.

Butterbaugh faces up to 40 years in prison, a maximum fine of $5 million, and at least four years of supervised release.

Sentencing is set for January 23, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force, which is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boise Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Caldwell Police Department, Nampa Police Department, Meridian Police Department, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and Idaho Department of Correction.

The case is being prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.

BOISE – Jason Earl Wright, 39, of Boise, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to court records, in June 2013, Wright attempted to purchase a scope for an AK-47 advertised on Craigslist. The seller, an Idaho Department of Correction Probation and Parole Officer, discovered that on December 19, 2006, Wright was convicted of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver, a felony with a term of imprisonment exceeding one year. Wright was contacted by an undercover law enforcement agent regarding the transaction, after which Wright agreed to trade ammunition and a gun safe for the rifle scope. Based on conversations between the agent and Wright, a federal search warrant was obtained and executed at Wright’s Boise residence on June 27, 2013. Before serving the warrant, the undercover agent arranged to meet with Wright to complete the trade. Wright’s vehicle was subsequently stopped by Ada County Sheriff’s Office deputies. Wright was found to be in possession of 13 rounds of ammunition. Law enforcement recovered 14 firearms and over 2,000 rounds of ammunition at Wright’s residence.

Wright faces up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

Sentencing is set for January 23, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and Boise Police Department.

Wright was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.

COEUR D’ALENE — Billy E. Moffitt, 27, of Lewiston and Plummer, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to time served — 159 days — for conspiracy to commit theft from a tribal organization, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered Moffitt to serve three years of supervised release and pay $4,175.26 in restitution, joint and several with co-defendant Angeline George, to the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Housing Authority. Moffitt pleaded guilty to the charge on August 20, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, George was employed by the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Housing Authority and was issued a credit card related to her duties. Between February 2 and February 23, 2013, Moffitt and George drove from the Coeur d’Alene reservation to Spokane, Washington, where George purchased $4,175.26 in money orders from local Money Tree stores. Moffitt or George would then cash the money orders and use the cash for their personal use and benefit.

Angeline George pleaded guilty on August 30, 2013, to conspiracy to commit theft from a tribal organization. She is set for sentencing on December 3, 2013, at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

The case was investigated by Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

BOISE – Darrel Dwayne Smith, 44, of Nampa, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to one count of unlawful possession of two firearms by a person under a protective order, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, on June 16, 2013, Smith was arrested for misdemeanor DUI, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. In the bed of the pickup truck he was driving, Smith had a loaded Ruger .44 caliber revolver, ammunition, and a Smith and Wesson .22 caliber revolver. At the time of his arrest, Smith was under a protective order issued in Canyon County, Idaho, on January 24, 2013, and valid until July 31, 2013. The order prohibited Smith from harassing, annoying, disturbing the peace of, contacting, or otherwise communicating with his wife. According to the plea agreement, Smith agreed to forfeit the firearms and ammunition.

Smith is set for sentencing on January 24, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Smith was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.

Judge Orders Former Employee to Pay Over $3,600 in Restitution

COEUR D’ALENE – Shawn M. Stone, 49, of Lewiston, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Coeur d’Alene to three years’ probation for misappropriation of postal funds, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered Stone to pay $3,658.96 in restitution to the U.S. Postal Service. She pleaded guilty to the indictment on August 20, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, on April 2, 2012, agents with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General went to the U.S. Post Office in Winchester, Idaho, to investigate the suspected theft of postal money orders. An examination of Stone’s cash drawer at the post office located 29 postal money order vouchers issued between February 26 and March 22, 2012, totaling $3,904.54. Stone acknowledged that she had converted the money orders associated with the vouchers for her personal use.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General.

COEUR D’ALENE — Andrew Tony Blackeagle, 30, of Kamiah, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 67 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for assault with a dangerous weapon, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Blackeagle appeared before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene. He pleaded guilty to the charge on August 20, 2013.

According to the plea agreement, Blackeagle admitted that on October 12, 2012, he assaulted a woman, striking her with his hand and foot while threatening to cut her with a knife. The victim sustained a laceration to her scalp during the incident.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Nez Perce Tribal Police, with the assistance of the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.

BOISE – Brock Tyler Beutler, 24, of Twin Falls, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to seven months in prison for possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also sentenced Beutler to serve three years of supervised release, with three months of home detention, 80 hours of community service, and forfeiture of the firearm he possessed. He pleaded guilty to the charge on August 14, 2013.

According to court documents, officers with the Twin Falls Police Department found a handgun with an obliterated serial number in Beutler’s waistband during a traffic stop on February 5, 2013. When asked about the obliterated serial number on the firearm, Beutler admitted to filing off the serial number so that it could not be traced. Beutler was also in possession of a small amount of methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by the Twin Falls Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Plea Resolves Twenty-one ATM Thefts in Six Western States

BOISE — U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced that Clarence Edward Lancaster, 57, of Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty in United States District Court today to one count of bank larceny for stealing an ATM from the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Idaho, on July 22, 2012. In that instance, Lancaster used several tools to force open an ATM owned by First Federal Bank, to steal the cash inside. The plea agreement resolves 21 ATM thefts committed in Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, Utah, Oregon, and Arizona.

Lancaster was apprehended by law enforcement in January 2013 for a burglary on the campus of Eastern Arizona College. In that incident, Lancaster had entered a building in an attempt to steal from an ATM machine, but was observed by a college professor who called campus police. At a subsequent interview conducted by a Boise FBI agent and Eastern Arizona College police officer, Lancaster confessed to a number of similar ATM thefts, including thefts at Idaho State University, in Pocatello, and Boise State University. The FBI identified Lancaster as the perpetrator in other ATM thefts by geographically tracking his banking transactions and matching the dates and locations with ATM theft reports showing similar patterns of conduct. Lancaster also admitted an ATM theft at North Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene.

As part of the plea agreement, Lancaster admitted to 21 separate events of ATM theft from June 2012 through January 2013, in Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, Utah, Oregon and Arizona, for a total loss of $216,178.84 — $124,000 in U.S. currency, $88,366.84 for damages caused to ATM machines, and $3,612 of property damage to the buildings and equipment where the thefts took place. According to the plea agreement, Lancaster admitted to an additional theft of property from the Lied Animal Shelter, in Las Vegas, which he later pawned; unrecovered property loss was $189. The aforementioned figures are preliminary, as victims have the opportunity to submit impact statements for consideration at Lancaster’s sentencing hearing.

The maximum penalty for bank larceny is ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. As part of the plea agreement, Lancaster agreed to pay restitution of $216,367.84, and agreed to forfeiture of the cash proceeds of his crimes, at least $124,200.

Lancaster is scheduled to be sentenced on January 28, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boise Police Department, Pocatello Police Department, Twin Falls Police Department, Eastern Arizona College Campus Police, and Boise State campus security.