HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced a Crown Point man to 22 years in prison for leading a ring that manufactured and distributed methamphetamine from northwest Indiana to Colorado.
Thirty-three-year-old Richard "Tricky" Kasper was sentenced during a hearing Wednesday in federal court in Hammond. The Times of Munster reports the sentence was part of a plea agreement in which prosecutors dropped more than 30 counts in return for Kasper's testimony against other members of the drug ring. Kasper could have faced life in prison.
Kasper's testimony helped convict 18 co-defendants, including the leader of a national white supremacist motorcycle gang.
The Times said dozens of addicts worked for Kasper, buying over-the-counter nasal decongestants as ingredients for cooking meth and helping the operation stretch across the country.
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Information from: The Times, http://www.thetimesonline.com
