Arizona woman sentenced to 2 years for distributing ecstasy in Montana

MISSOULA, Mont. — An Arizona woman was sentenced Thursday to two years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute ecstasy, announced U.S. Attorney Michael W. Cotter, District of Montana.

Courtney Cal Gardenier, 25, from Scottsdale, Ariz., was sentenced to 24 months in prison and three years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen.

Gardenier was sentenced in connection with her Dec. 5 guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute ecstasy.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Racicot, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

• On Nov. 3, 2011, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was notified by agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Chicago that two shipments of ecstasy were received at the mail facility. The packages were sent from Canada and were bound for Bozeman, Mont. One contained 22 grams and the other 23 grams of powder MDMA/ecstasy.
• On Nov. 9, a Postal Inspector conducted controlled deliveries of both packages and law enforcement subsequently searched both residences and interviewed the recipients of the packages. The recipients provided detailed information about their involvement in the conspiracy and identified Gardenier as their point of contact to obtain the drugs. One recipient agreed to cooperate with law enforcement and eventually ordered about 1,000 tablets of suspected ecstasy from Gardenier. Those pills were seized from Gardenier following a controlled delivery and the Drug Enforcement Administration's lab analyzed the pills and determined that they contained N-benzlypiperazine, or BZP, which is a Schedule I controlled substance.
• Gardenier was interviewed by law enforcement Nov. 22, following the controlled delivery of the BZP pills. She admitted that she had been involved in distributing both powdered MDMA and ecstasy pills and identified her sources of supply. Based on her statements and the statements of other witnesses, law enforcement estimated that Gardenier distributed about nine ounces of MDMA during the life of the conspiracy, in addition to the BZP pills.

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

This investigation was a cooperative effort between HSI and the Missouri River Drug Task Force.