Woman Awaits Sentencing After Federal Drug Conviction

A Portland woman will be sentenced June 9 after being convicted by a U.S. District Court jury in Spokane for involvement in distributing methamphetamine.

Theresa Varsamas, 39, faces a minimum mandatory term of 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

She was convicted Friday after a three-day jury trial.

Varsamas devised a scheme to supply methamphetamine to Cassandra Gardipee, 29, of Spokane.

Witnesses questioned by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rolf Tangvald said the drugs were shipped to Spokane from Portland on Greyhound buses.

Between April and June of last year, the participants distributed 5 pounds of meth, worth an estimated $75,000.

Usually, the contraband was concealed in hollowed-out peanut butter jars, witnesses testified.

Gardipee would sell the meth - commonly called crank - on the streets of Spokane and ship the drug proceeds back to Varsamas in Portland.

There, Vivian Hulett, 31, also of Portland, assisted Varsamas in packaging and shipping the meth, and picking up the returned profits.

Hulett and Gardipee earlier pleaded guilty to federal drug charges associated with the conspiracy, Tangvald said.

As part of plea agreements for lighter sentences, they agreed to testify as prosecution witnesses against Varsamas.

Hulett faces sentencing on May 11 and Gardipee on May 15.

Varsamas testified in her own defense and told the jury it was salsa, not methamphetamine, that she was shipping to Gardipee.