FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
CYNTHIA ANN WALSH SENTENCED IN U.S. DISTRICT COURT
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Missoula, on November 28, 2007, before Chief U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, CYNTHIA ANN WALSH, a 39-year-old resident of Gallatin County, appeared for sentencing. WALSH was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 57 months
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 4 years
WALSH was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On August 16, 2004, Roy Allen Bianchi, Jose Ramiro Pena and Joel Vargas Torres were stopped by a Gallatin County Sheriff's deputy for failing to dim the headlights of the vehicle they were driving. The vehicle, a white Chevy pickup, was registered to James Dale Parker. Bianchi, Pena and Torres had some drugs and paraphernalia in the vehicle, as well as room keys for two rooms at the TLC Inn in Bozeman.
Officers searched the rooms at the TLC Inn and seized approximately three-quarters of a pound of methamphetamine, a pistol, and other indicia of drug use and drug distribution, including a digital scale. They also seized a deck of playing cards bearing the name "Mike" and phone number. Gallatin County Sheriff's Office records indicated that the phone was linked to Michael Emery.
Bianchi, Pena, and Torres were indicted for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Bianchi pled guilty to both charges and was sentenced to 117 months imprisonment. Pena and Torres were convicted of the conspiracy charge following a trial.
After the indictment was returned, Bianchi turned himself in to DEA agents in Washington and consented to an interview concerning the scope of the conspiracy. He was de-briefed again prior to Pena's and Torres' trial. During those interviews, he fully admitted his involvement in the conspiracy and described the transportation of methamphetamine from Washington to Montana on several occasions during the spring and summer of 2004. He also identified the Montana buyers as Michael Danon Emery, James Dale Parker, and WALSH. According to Bianchi, he met Parker and Walsh through Emery, with whom he had grown up in Washington. Emery had moved to Bozeman and Bianchi contacted him about the possibility of distributing drugs in Montana.
Bianchi stated that on several occasions he delivered methamphetamine to Emery, Parker, and WALSH at their respective residences. He described WALSH as residing near Belgrade. According to Bianchi, each Montana buyer received between one-quarter and one-half pound of methamphetamine on each trip.
Based on the information provided by Bianchi, law enforcement officers obtained and reviewed occupancy and phone records from the hotels that Bianchi, Pena, and Torres frequented during their drug runs. Records from the TLC Inn reflect that Bianchi rented rooms on July 30 and 31, 2004, August 6 and 7, 2004, August 10 and 11, 2004, and August 15 and 16, 2004. On August 15 and 16, 2004, five calls were placed from Bianchi's room at the TLC Inn to Emery's phone number. Those calls would corroborate Bianchi's testimony that he would make contact with Emery in order to facilitate the deliveries of methamphetamine to Emery, Parker, and WALSH.
The phone records from the TLC Inn also show calls to a phone number on July 30, 2004, and August 11, 2004, that Gallatin County Sheriff's Office records reflect was associated with WALSH from September of 2002 until March of 2006. The address listed in those records is located in Gallatin Gateway, which corroborates Bianchi's statements about the location of WALSH'S residence.
Emery pled guilty on April 11, 2007, and Parker pled guilty on July 24, 2007. Parker was interviewed by law enforcement on July 11, 2007. He provided information consistent with the information provided by Bianchi, including information about WALSH'S role in the conspiracy. Parker also related that after Bianchi's arrest in Bozeman on August 16, 2004, he (Parker) continued to distribute methamphetamine in Bozeman for several months to several individuals, including WALSH. He recalled providing WALSH with at least one ounce of methamphetamine on at least four occasions during the eight-week period from August to October 2004.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that WALSH will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, WALSH does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Racicot prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Missouri River Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
