Source: Office of United States Attorneys
MISSOULA – A Butte woman accused of distributing fentanyl admitted to charges yesterday, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
The defendant, Brooke Rose Louise Cardonia, 33, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Cardonia faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least 5 years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is set for December 18, 2025. Cardonia was detained pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that between February 2023 and March 2025, members of a drug trafficking organization (DTO) transported fentanyl into Montana for distribution. The DTO did so in part by utilizing local contacts in Montana, one of which was Cardonia. Cardonia both facilitated the distribution of fentanyl and connected a co-defendant to contacts in Montana that aided in the distribution efforts of the DTO.
In November 2024, Cardonia was arrested after a series of fentanyl overdoses occurred in Butte, MT, based on information developed by law enforcement that Cardonia supplied those victims with fentanyl. Cardonia spoke with law enforcement at that time and advised she worked with members of the DTO for the past two to three years to distribute fentanyl in Montana. Cardonia said the DTO provided her with a local resupply connection in Butte via her employment. She admitted using the connection to receive fentanyl from the DTO, which she then distributed.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Lowney and Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case. Homeland Security Investigations, Southwest Montana Drug Task Force, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, DEA and IRS conducted the investigation.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
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