Woman sentenced in drug and money laundering investigation
A Salt Lake City woman has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The U.S. Department of Justice says Tiffany Scott Spevak, 39, admitted that more than 99 pounds of methamphetamine was distributed in Utah and Idaho between January 2014 and October 2016. According to court documents, Spevak admitted to conspiring with other persons to procure methamphetamine in Arizona and California and then directing them to distribute it. Altogether, investigators involved in the case estimate the group distributed between 250 and 500 pounds of methamphetamine.
At the time of sentencing, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill said he believed Dalley’s drug trafficking organization was “one of, if not the largest, drug trafficking operation in eastern Idaho” over the past 24 years.
According to a DOJ news release, “acting on information provided by an individual arrested in Washington, special agents with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations interviewed Spevak at her home in January 2016. Agents found $37,000 in a case during a search of her residence. A narcotics K-9 alerted on items in the home. Agents found postal express mail envelopes and a small roll of green shrink wrap in a closet. Spevak initially told them the materials were from 2012 and were used by her significant other, Hugo Tapia-Mendoza, who is currently incarcerated in another federal drug case. During a later interview, Spevak told agents that after Tapia was arrested, she began to contact individuals who worked for Tapia who connected her with individuals who sold her methamphetamine.”
Cases are still pending for four other defendants.
Carlos Rafael Cota-Escalante, 53, of Phoenix, Arizona, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering in the indictment. He is in custody.
Stephen Scott Spevak, 62, of Idaho, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and three counts of money laundering. He is on pretrial release. Spevak is Tiffany Spevak’s father.
An arrest warrant is pending for Carlos Rafael Cota-Llanes, age 31, of Phoenix, who is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Shanna Walter, age 42, of Salt Lake County, is charged with money laundering and is on pretrial release.
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah are prosecuting the case. Special agents of the DEA, IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations are investigating, along with Idaho State Police.
You can view our previous story HERE.
