Seventh and Eighth Defendants Sentenced in St. Croix Tribal Drug Investigation
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 14, 2009 |
MADISON, WI—Stephen P. Sinnott, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that the two more defendants were sentenced today in the St. Croix tribal drug investigation: (1) George Rainey, 29, Rice Lake, Wisconsin; and (2) Bruce Rainey, 30, Eau Claire, Wisconsin. United States District Judge James T. Moody, a visiting judge from the Northern District of Indiana, sentenced the defendants for their role in distributing crack cocaine on St. Croix tribal lands from approximately January 2001 through September 2008. Judge Moody sentenced George Rainey to 168 months (14 years) in federal prison without parole, and sentenced Bruce Rainey to 210 months (17 years, 6 months) in federal prison without parole.
These two defendants are the seventh and eighth defendants sentenced as a result of this investigation into drug dealing on St. Croix tribal lands. The previous defendants sentenced are set forth below:
| Name | Crime of Conviction | Sentence Imposed |
| Joseph Merrill | Distribution of Crack Cocaine | 4 years |
| Manley L. Williams | Distribution of Crack Cocaine | 8 years, 4 months |
| Christifer Sonnenberg | Distribution of Crack Cocaine | 5 years, 6 months |
| Jean Sonnenberg | Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine | 19 years, 7 months |
| Bruce Sonnenberg | Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine | 24 years, 4 months |
| Amanda Sonnenberg | Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine | 3 years, 10 months |
Defendants Andrew Sonnenberg, Diana Martin, and Margrette Cobb have also pleaded and sentencing hearings will be scheduled in the near future.
These two defendants, and other members of the conspiracy, worked together to obtain and distribute crack cocaine on St. Croix tribal lands from at least January 2001 through September 2008. Each of the members of the conspiracy, at various times, traveled with Jean Sonnenberg to obtain crack cocaine from her sources in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The drugs were then sold to customers on tribal lands in northwestern Wisconsin. During the first several months of 2008, an individual working with law enforcement officers purchased crack cocaine from these five defendants on several occasions. Each of these purchases was recorded by law enforcement officers.
Acting United States Attorney Sinnott stated that today’s sentencings were the result of a long-term investigation being conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation-Narcotics Bureau; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the St. Croix Tribal Police Department; the Rice Lake Police Department; the Barron County Sheriff's Department; the Burnett County Sheriff's Department; the Polk County Sheriff's Department; the Native American Drug & Gang Initiative; and the Wisconsin State Patrol. Sinnott stated that the investigation is continuing and additional indictments and arrests are expected.
Prosecution of these cases have been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Vaudreuil.