Judge sentences 3 in marijuana smuggling ring

A federal judge in Coeur d’Alene told a Spokane woman convicted of drug possession to wear a key around her neck every day she is on probation “… so you understand you hold the key to your future.”

Kristina Stewart, 28, was among three people sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Edward Lodge for varying degrees of involvement in a marijuana smuggling ring that, federal prosecutors say, moved millions of dollars worth of Canadian-grown “B.C. Bud” through the region before the operation began to unravel in April 2003. Two key figures in the tightly organized Bud-smuggling operation – Nathan Norman, 22, and Ben Scozzaro, 21 – left town early that month after arrests were made in connection with the murder of a rival drug trafficker who had wanted them dead.

Stewart was arrested April 2, 2003, when police raided a Liberty Lake apartment where they hoped to find Norman, a Coeur d’Alene man federal and state drug investigators are calling the organizer of the smuggling ring.

Norman and Scozzaro, of Hayden, were briefly detained later that day as they were headed to Southern California with U-Haul trailers. Both have since pleaded guilty to a variety of counts and are awaiting sentencing.

In addition to Stewart, Lodge on Monday also sentenced Rhett Mayer, who briefly drove scout cars for the smuggling operation, and Jeremy Borges, who purchased a Cadillac Escalade that Norman paid for with more than $40,000 in cash.

Stewart, according to court documents, agreed to let Norman move in with her shortly after he broke both his forearms when he was thrown from a dirt bike.

On Monday, she showed Lodge a portrait of her and her son.

“He is the best thing I’ve done with my life to date,” Stewart told the judge. “I’m a great mom,” she said, adding that she has always made it a priority to raise her son, care for him and shelter him. She has been terrified, Stewart said, that she came close to harming that bond when she became involved with a drug trafficker.

She nearly became tearful several times as she read her statement, ending by asking Lodge to “… consider what I have already gone through when you decide my sentence.”

Lodge, who sentenced her to two years of probation, told Stewart, “I want you to keep that note you wrote the court and read it at least once a week. Words are easily spoken. It’s the conduct and actions you take that speak louder than words.”

As a parent, Lodge said, “you set an example for your child. They do as you do, not as you say. If you look in that child’s eyes and see what you can lose – you won’t be back before this court.”

In the other sentencings, Mayer argued he bailed out of the smuggling ring after one of the co-defendants told him he should have rammed a car that passed him on a highway near a drug pick-up zone near the Canadian border instead of risking that the operation would be uncovered.

He was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

Borges told Lodge he only went riding around with Norman as a friend and had no knowledge of the drug ring. The judge sentenced him to 10 months on probation with the first four to be served in home detention. Lodge countered Borges’ arguments that he didn’t know Norman was involved with drugs and that Norman gave him other reasons for having large amounts of cash.

“It’s one thing to say he gave you excuses, but one reason God gave you a mind is to be able to judge what people say,” Lodge said. Later, he added, “It’s why you use your head for something other than a hat rack.”