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Couple Plead Guilty To Guns-For-Drugs Deals |
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An East Windsor chiropractor and his wife admitted
Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Hartford to conspiring to trade guns
for drugs to feed their heroin and cocaine habits.
In the plea agreement, David Muska faces 8.4 to 9.2 years in prison. Federal prosecutors and Cheryl Muska agreed that her sentence will range from 21 to 27 months. The couple also agreed to pay a $20,000 fine. They will be sentenced March 13. The Muskas also agreed to forfeit 88 guns, several thousand rounds of ammunition and gun parts that police seized when they arrested David Muska Feb. 3. They have also agreed to forfeit to the government a 1999 Mercedes-Benz and a 2003 Dodge Ram pickup truck that were used in the crimes, officials said. Two of the firearms registered to Cheryl Muska, and one registered to David Muska have been seized by Hartford police in unrelated criminal investigations. David Muska pleaded guilty to conspiracy to use or possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, use or possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and dealing firearms without a license. Judge Alfred V. Covello presided. Cheryl Muska pleaded guilty to conspiracy to use or possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, U.S. Attorney Kevin J. Connor said. According to court documents and statements made in court, from March 2005 to March 2006, the Muskas agreed with others to exchange firearms they owned for heroin and cocaine. They said they were addicted to the drugs during this time, officials said. "Prosecuting individuals who exchange guns for drugs is a top priority of this office, and the penalties for these crimes are severe," O'Connor said in a statement. Norman Barnaby III of Windsor Locks, a co-conspirator, was sentenced by Covello to three years and five months in federal prison in August after pleading guilty to conspiring to possess or use firearms during drug trafficking and to dealing in firearms without a license. Court documents say that in mid-2005 Barnaby began making "drug runs" into Hartford several times a week for David Muska. The Muskas are scheduled to appear in Superior Court of Enfield on Jan. 22 on state weapons and reckless endangerment charges. http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctmuska1221.artdec21,0,4594512.story?coll=hc-headlines-local |