“Vermont woman sentenced for leaking agent's phone records” |
| Vermont woman sentenced for leaking agent's phone records Posted: 28 Nov 2010 03:11 AM PST A Vermont woman who admitted to showing an alleged drug kingpin the cell-phone records of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent must serve six months in prison and four months in home confinement, a federal judge determined Monday. Amy Quesnel, 29, of Georgia previously pleaded guilty to a violation of the Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Quesnel apologized during her sentencing Monday in U.S. District Court in Burlington for committing the crime. "I made poor judgments," she said, choking back tears. "I'm just sorry that I let down my friends and family." While working as a sales coordinator for Sprint-Nextel in 2008, Quesnel gave the alleged leader of a northwestern Vermont crack-cocaine ring, Michael Olsen, the agent's phone number and then let Olsen see the phone numbers of people the agent was calling, according to court papers. Unknown to Quesnel, Olsen found on that list the number of his ex-girlfriend, whom he suspected of working as a DEA informant, court papers contend. Olsen allegedly told Quesnel he was engaged in a child-custody fight with the ex-girlfriend and wanted proof the woman was having a relationship with "a new man" -- the DEA agent. Olsen's drug ring operated out of the Rizzo Bros. auto-detailing business in South Burlington and sold crack cocaine throughout Chittenden and Franklin counties in 2008 and 2009, according to court papers. Federal agents who broke up the ring said in affidavits that Rizzo Bros. functioned primarily as a front for the drug operation and rarely worked on cars. Twenty people were indicted in February on allegations of playing a role in the drug ring, and all have agreed to plead guilty. In sentencing Quesnel, Chief Judge William Sessions III described her as a hard-working, honest person "who should never be in a federal courtroom." She accepted responsibility for her actions and helped with the criminal investigation, Sessions said. However, the crime itself was "extremely serious" and endangered the lives of law-enforcement officers and their informants, he said. (2 of 2) Sessions ordered Quesnel to begin her sentence Jan. 4. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Perella asked Sessions to impose a sentence that would deter young people working the same job as Quesnel from committing similar crimes. "Send them a message that if you disclose phone records, you're going to go to jail," Perella said. Quesnel's attorney, Edward Kenney, contended that the prospect of a criminal record, without imprisonment, was enough of a deterrent. Olsen lived with Quesnel and her fiance for six to seven months. Although the two were friends, Quesnel feared Olsen because he had a reputation for violence, Kenney said. In September, Olsen admitted in court to several drug crimes, as well as enlisting Quesnel's help to determine who in the drug ring might be supplying the DEA information. He denied the government's claim that he led the ring. Olsen's sentencing has been scheduled for February. He faces 10 years to life in prison. Contact Matt Ryan at 651-4849 or mryan@burlingtonfreepress.com. To have Free Press headlines delivered free to your e-mail, sign up at burlingtonfreepress.com/newsletters. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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