Twentieth Defendant Sentenced in St. Croix Tribal Drug Investigation
| U.S. Attorney’s Office April 15, 2010 |
MADISON, WI—Stephen P. Sinnott, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Frankie Bildeau, 24, Webster, Wis., was sentenced yesterday in the St. Croix tribal land drug investigation. U.S. District Judge Lynn S. Adelman, a visiting judge from the Eastern District of Wisconsin, sentenced Bildeau to 12 months and one day in federal prison based on Bildeau’s distribution of crack cocaine.
With yesterday’s sentencing, 20 defendants have now been 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 | Distribution of Crack Cocaine | 3 years, 10 months |
| George Rainey | Distribution of Crack Cocaine | 14 years | Bruce Rainey | Distribution of Crack Cocaine | 17 years, 6 months |
| Diana Martin | Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine | 9 years |
| Margrette Cobb | Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine | 13 years, 4 months |
| Andrew Sonnenberg | Distribution of Crack Cocaine | 17 years, 6 months |
| Ericka J. Reynolds | Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine | 1 year, 6 months |
| Shaleah Reynolds | Distribution of Crack Cocaine | 2 years |
| Michael D. Hammond | Distribution of Crack Cocaine | 12 years, 7 months |
| Steven R. Lang | Distribution of Methamphetamine | 4 years |
| Shana Corbine | Distribution of Crack Cocaine | 4 years, 3 months |
| Linda Lightfeather | Operating a Crack House | 5 months |
| Buck Zehner | Operating a Crack House | 8 months |
| Janeen Mosay | Operating a Crack House | 6 months |
Louis and Brandon Belisle pleaded guilty on April 14 and will be sentenced on July 12. John Carr, Derrick Rapley, and Broderick Swain were charged in a nine-count indictment returned by the grand jury on December 2, 2009. Rapley and Swain have pleaded guilty; Swain will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb on May 11, 2010, and Rapley will be sentenced by Judge Crabb on May 13, 2010. Carr is set for a jury trial beginning on June 14, 2010.
United States Attorney Sinnott stated that today’s sentencing was the result of a long-term investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation; Federal Bureau of Investigation; St. Croix Tribal Police Department; Rice Lake Police Department; Barron County Sheriff's Department; Burnett County Sheriff's Department; Sawyer County Sheriff’s Department; Polk County Sheriff's Department; Native American Drug & Gang Initiative; and the Wisconsin State Patrol.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Vaudreuil is handling the prosecution of these cases.