Twenty-Sixth Defendant Sentenced in St. Croix Tribal Drug Investigation
| U.S. Attorney’s Office May 20, 2011 |
MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Eric E. Garvey, 40, Webster, Wis., was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 42 months in prison without parole and three years of probation for the distribution of methamphetamine. Garvey was found guilty of four charges of distributing methamphetamine on February 8, 2011, after a two-day trial in federal court in Madison.
The government’s proof at the jury trial established that Garvey sold methamphetamine to an individual working with law enforcement on four occasions in April and May 2008. The Garvey investigation was part of a large investigation into drug dealing on St. Croix tribal lands.
Twenty-five defendants have previously been sentenced as a result of this investigation. 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 |
| Frankie Bildeau | Distribution of Crack Cocaine | 12 months, 1 day |
| Broderick Swain | Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine | 54 months |
| Derrick Rapley | Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine | 13 years |
| Louis Belisle | Distribution of Crack Cocaine | 21 months |
| Brandon Belisle | Distribution of Crack Cocaine | 21 months |
| John Carr | Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine | 6 years |
United States Attorney Vaudreuil stated that this sentencing, and all the prior sentencings, were 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 Wisconsin State Patrol.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter M. Jarosz handled the prosecution of the Garvey case; United States Attorney John W. Vaudreuil handled the prosecution of the previous cases.