The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on January 19, 2011, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, NICHOLAS JAMES MOSKALOFF, a 33-year-old resident of Hungry Horse, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Sentencing has been set for April 20, 2011. He is currently detained.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Racicot, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On July 20, 2010, agents from the Montana Division of Criminal Investigations ("DCI") met with a confidential informant who described his frequent purchases of methamphetamine from MOSKALOFF during the preceding two months. The informant generally described the majority of his interactions with MOSKALOFF and specifically relayed the details of one deal in particular. The informant told the agents that MOSKALOFF was on house arrest and wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet because he was on probation. The informant provided the address to MOSKALOFF's residence and MOSKALOFF's home phone number. The informant estimated that from May to July 2010, the informant had purchased between 326 and 564 grams of methamphetamine from MOSKALOFF.

On July 21, 2010, DCI agents monitored the controlled purchase of approximately one gram of methamphetamine by the informant from MOSKALOFF. The deal took place in a parking lot in Kalispell while MOSKALOFF was on his way to or from a urinalysis test that was mandated by his conditions of probation.

MOSKALOFF was arrested a few days after the aforementioned drug deal and the investigating agents also executed a search warrant at his residence. In MOSKALOFF's mother's bedroom, the officers seized what appeared to be a fishing tackle box that contained two digital scales, a small quantity of marijuana, packaging materials consistent with the packaging used by MOSKALOFF, and some money. They also found what appeared to be ledgers with written records of drug deals and a total of 17 firearms.

MOSKALOFF faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison and could be sentenced to 40 years, a $2,000,000 fine and at least 4 years supervised release.

The investigation was conducted by the Montana Division of Criminal Investigations.

A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.

 

 

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