Timothy J. Racicot Acting United States Attorney for the District of Montana | Wikipedia
A Great Falls woman implicated in a methamphetamine distribution scheme has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme confirmed that nearly $75,000 in cash, a gun, a BMW, and a motorhome were forfeited in connection with the case.
Melissa Ann Barone, aged 55, entered a guilty plea in December 2024 to charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris presided over the judicial proceedings.
According to court documents, Melissa Barone and a co-defendant were found to be distributing significant quantities of methamphetamine in and around Great Falls since 2020. Between 2020 and 2024, multiple drug associates informed law enforcement about the duo’s drug activities and their trips to states such as Colorado, Washington, and Arizona to procure methamphetamine intended for redistribution in Montana. During a 10-month span from 2020 to 2021, they were reported to have sold over six to eight pounds of methamphetamine in one-pound quantities.
Further investigation in 2022 and 2023 revealed Barone was involved in trafficking smaller amounts of the drug, typically half or full eightballs, on behalf of her co-defendant. The co-defendant was acquiring methamphetamine in amounts ranging from 50 to 100 pounds, with transactions often involving sums exceeding $100,000. The duo purchased vehicles and RVs at auto auctions using cash.
In February 2023, law enforcement executed a traffic stop while the defendants were returning to Montana from Texas. A K-9 unit detected $17,000 in cash secured inside the vehicle. On May 5, 2024, Barone was arrested following the execution of a warrant in Great Falls. A search revealed approximately 444.4 grams of methamphetamine, a scale, and paraphernalia in her possession. Her vehicle contained an additional $7,911 in cash, 46.3 grams of methamphetamine, and related paraphernalia. A BMW linked to her co-defendant contained a vacuum-sealed bag with $5,000 in cash concealed beneath the back seat.
The prosecution of this case was managed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, while the Russell Country Drug Task Force led the investigation.
The operation fell under the mandate of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a collective aiming to dismantle severe criminal organizations within the United States employing a coordinated prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach. For more details about OCDETF, visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.
