Arizona man gets 16 years in federal prison for bringing meth into central Wisconsin
MADISON – A 31-year-old Arizona man was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in federal prison for bringing more than 20 pounds of methamphetamine into central Wisconsin.
Levi Bagne was sentenced for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and money laundering. Bagne pleaded guilty to the charges on May 24.
Bagne was the leader of a large-scale drug trafficking organization that brought more than 20 pounds of methamphetamine into central Wisconsin from Arizona, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office Western District of Wisconsin news release. Bagne used drug money to make mortgage payments on his house and buy a trailer, ATVs, a motorcycle and a swimming pool.
On Nov. 12, 2019, and again on Feb. 15, 2020, Bagne and a woman mailed packages containing methamphetamine from Arizona to another man whose home was in Oshkosh. Law enforcement officers seized the packages and found six pounds of methamphetamine, according to the news release.
On Sept. 2, 2020, law enforcement agents searched a storage unit in Stevens Point belonging to Bagne and the Oshkosh man. They found 10 pounds of methamphetamine in the storage unit, according to the news release.
Investigators also found Bagne and the woman used multiple bank accounts to launder the drug money, according to the release. After selling methamphetamine in Wisconsin, the Oshkosh man reported the drug money to Bagne in Arizona. Bagne allowed the man to deposit cashier's checks into the woman's bank accounts. Ragne and the woman set up the accounts and withdrew the money.
On May 26, 2021, agents arrested Bagne and searched his home in Buckeye, Arizona. During the search, agents found a safe containing $40,050 cash, nine firearms and hundreds of pounds of ammunition. As part of his plea agreement, Bagne agreed to forfeit his Arizona home, the $40,000, a 2021 22-foot trailer and a 2019 Honda motorcycle, according to the news release.
At the sentencing Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge James Peterson said a significant sentence was warranted because Bagne's organization was responsible for bringing a tremendous amount of methamphetamine into Wisconsin for a significant amount of time. Peterson said Bagne exercised tight control over members of the organization and helped finance local dealers by fronting them large amounts of methamphetamine.
Peterson said Bagne had multiple prior drug trafficking felony convictions and prior prison sentences that have not deterred him from dealing drugs. Bagne's history demonstrated a lack of self-control and a propensity for violence, Peterson said.
A total of six people have been charged for participating in the methamphetamine distribution scheme. All six have pleaded guilty.
Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KMadden715, Instagram at @kmadden715 or Facebook at facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Arizona man gets 16 years for bringing meth into central Wisconsin
