United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2010
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

COUPLE CONVICTED ON FELONY DRUG CHARGES
SENTENCED TO LENGTHY FEDERAL PRISON TERMS

AMARILLO, Texas — Today, U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson sentenced two defendants, Cynthia Lynn Ortega and Daniel Alan Wasyl, of Phoenix, Arizona, who were both convicted at trial on drug charges in September, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Judge Robinson sentenced Ortega, 43, to120 months in prison and Wasyl, 46, to 170 months in prison. Each was convicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute a drug and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

On May 23, 2010, a Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper stopped the defendants on Interstate 40, near Panhandle, Texas, for a traffic violation. The Trooper became suspicious and asked to search their truck. He found a compartment mounted under the back seat of their pickup that contained cocaine and cocaine base (crack cocaine). The defendants were transporting the drugs from Phoenix to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vicki Lamberson and Denise Williams prosecuted.

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