Former U.S. Montana lawmaker sentenced to 18 years for drug trafficking

A former U.S. Montana Republican house majority leader was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Thursday for drug trafficking.

Michael Lange, 57, will spend 216 months in prison for two felony drug distribution charges, according to a sentence issued by Susan Watters, a U.S. district judge of the Montana district court.

Lange served three terms as a state lawmaker in the northwestern U.S. state of Montana. He was the Republican House majority leader during the 2007 legislature.

Ironically, Lange had even supported as a lawmaker a bill to give 4 million U.S. dollars to the Montana Meth Project, a large-scale prevention program aimed at reducing first-time teen Meth use.

In September 2016, U.S. agents began an investigation into a broad drug-trafficking organization selling large quantities of methamphetamine in the Billings area in Montana. Lange was identified as a large distributor for the organization, so agents applied for and received search warrants for his cell phone content and ultimately his residence.

Lange's text messages indicated that he was selling methamphetamine along with cocaine to a number of individuals. On Oct. 11, 2016, agents executed a search warrant on Lange's residence in Billings. They discovered 1,202 grams of methamphetamine and 442 grams of cocaine.

Interviewed by agents on two occasions, Lange admitted to participating in the conspiracy and obtaining approximately 20 pounds of methamphetamine for redistribution, according to a press release of the District of Montana of the U.S. Attorney's Office.