Arizona Man Gets 10 Years in Prison After 34-pound Meth Bust

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — An Arizona man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after he admitted to driving to Montana with 34 pounds of methamphetamine to be sold in Billings.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters sentenced 30-year-old Aldo Fabrizio Pardini of Mesa, Arizona, during a Wednesday hearing in federal court in Billings.

Thirty-four pounds of methamphetamine is equivalent to more than 123,000 individual doses with an estimated street value of $1.5 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Pardini pleaded guilty in January to possession with intent to distribute the drug. A drug conspiracy charge was dismissed under a plea deal with prosecutors.

Two co-defendants from Mexico were previously sentenced. Jorge Luis Mendez-Sanchez received almost five years in prison in May and Jose Jesus Islava-Lopez received 5-1/2 years on July 2.