Loudon Man Sentenced To 120 Months For Participating In Methamphetamine Trafficking Conspiracy

          CONCORD - Michael Bean, 33, of Loudon, was sentenced to 120 months in prison for conspiring with others to distribute methamphetamine, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today. 

          According to court documents and statements made in court, Bean and his girlfriend, Katie-Jo Waters, were members of a conspiracy in which supplier Edward Espejo, of Las Vegas, Nevada, shipped packages of nearly pure methamphetamine to New Hampshire.  Bean and Waters received packages containing methamphetamine in Pembroke and distributed the drugs to New Hampshire buyers.  Bean and Waters would then wire the proceeds of drugs sales to Espejo in Las Vegas to purchase additional drugs.  Between January and May 2018, Bean and Waters wired a total of more than $28,000 to Espejo in Las Vegas to buy methamphetamine.  On May 2, 2018, postal inspectors intercepted a package containing a pound of pure methamphetamine that Espejo was sending to Waters.

          Bean previously pleaded guilty on September 27, 2018.

          Waters and Espejo previously pleaded guilty.  Waters was sentenced on Tuesday to serve 72 months in prison.  Espejo is awaiting sentencing. 

          “Highly pure methamphetamine has been appearing with greater frequency in New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “This dangerous drug presents a serious and growing threat to public health and safety.  In order to deter drug traffickers, the law enforcement community will act aggressively to identify, prosecute, and incarcerate those who attempt to distribute methamphetamine in the Granite State.” 

          “Today’s sentencing is a result of a coordinated effort with our federal law enforcement partners to keep these highly addictive drugs out of our communities,” said U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Inspector in Charge, Joseph W. Cronin of the Boston Division. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service continuously works to rid the mail of illicit drug trafficking and the associated violence, preserve the integrity of the mail, and, most importantly, provide a safe environment for postal employees and the American public.”

          “This sentence reflects DEA’s strong commitment to bring to justice those that distribute methamphetamine,” said Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle.  “DEA and its local, state and federal law enforcement partners will do everything in our power to keep this highly addictive drug off the streets of New Hampshire.”

          This matter was investigated by the DEA and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Davis.

          This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.  

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