1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs Specialist

July 10, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Former Mountaineer Jockey Sentenced
on Cocaine Conspiracy Charge

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA - A 27-year old Newell, West Virginia, resident, a jockey who raced at the Mountaineer Racetrack, was sentenced on July 9, 2012, in United States District Court in Wheeling by Judge Frederick P. Stamp.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that: MARCELINO GAITAN-WALTER was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. GAITAN-WALTER, entered a plea of guilty on February 21, 2012, to conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Hancock County and elsewhere. As part of his plea, GAITAN-WALTER admitted he was involved in the distribution of 11 to 15 ounces of cocaine, with a street value of between $20,000 and $40,000. GAITAN-WALTER was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal institution. GAITAN-WALTER, a Panamanian citizen also faces deportation.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John C. Parr and was investigated by the West Virginia State Police-Bureau of Criminal Investigations.