The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Helena, on September 27, 2011, before Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell, GEOFFREY SCHARDIEN, a 34-year-old resident of Great Falls, appeared for sentencing. SCHARDIEN was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 80 months

Special Assessment: $300

Supervised Release: 4 years

SCHARDIEN was sentenced after a federal district court trial in which he was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, and distribution of cocaine. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vince Carroll and Michael T. Wolfe prosecuted the case for the United States.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that SCHARDIEN will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, SCHARDIEN does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and the Great Falls Police Department.

 

 

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