The United States Attorney's Office

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that, JASON ANDREW STEIN, age 28, of Vail, Arizona, CURTIS LEE EVERITT, age 41, and GEOFFREY J. BURGE, age 29, both of Tucson, Arizona, were sentenced in the U.S. District Court in East St. Louis on Friday, September 11, 2009, for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute in excess of 1000 kilograms (2200 pounds) of marijuana.

STEIN was sentenced to 78 months imprisonment and 4 years of supervised release following his release from prison. EVERITT was sentenced to 57 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release following his release from prison. BURGE was sentenced to 63 months imprisonment and 4 years of supervised release following his release from prison. In addition, STEIN and EVERITT were fined $500 and BURGE was ordered to pay a $400 fine.

STEIN pled guilty on May 28, 2009. EVERITT pled guilty on May 29, 2009. BURGE pled guilty on May 21, 2009. STEIN, EVERITT, and BURGE are among 14 defendants who have been convicted in the marijuana distribution scheme.

According to evidence presented when the three men entered guilty pleas, STEIN, EVERITT, and BURGE were part of a group that transported large shipments of Mexican marijuana from Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona to St. Louis, Missouri; East St. Louis, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lima, Ohio. At these locations, the marijuana was then divided and consigned to local distributors. After marijuana had been sold in these locations, the cash proceeds from the marijuana sales was transported back to Arizona. This marijuana distribution scheme operated from 2001 through mid - 2007.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration as part of its involvement in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which is designed to target and prosecute national and international drug trafficking organizations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert L. Garrison.