Man accused of delivering 50 pounds of meth to Gretna gas station sentenced

A man accused of delivering approximately 50 pounds of meth on behalf of a drug cartel to a gas station in Nebraska has been sentenced. 

United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced that on March 1, 2019, United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced John F. Haller III to a 14-year prison term. 

Haller, 51, of Riverside, California, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Prosecutors say that in July of 2017, Haller delivered the meth on behalf of a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization to another defendant at a gas station in Gretna.

The meth was intended for distribution in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metropolitan area. 

A month later, a Summit County, Utah, Sheriff’s Deputy stopped a pickup truck, with Haller inside as a passenger, heading east toward Omaha on Interstate 15. 

Officers searched the vehicle and recovered a garbage bag containing approximately 10 pounds of meth. 

At the time of the traffic stop, Haller claimed the methamphetamine and admitted he made additional trips and deliveries on behalf of the organization.

Haller was indicted federally in Utah and in Nebraska, but the Utah case was transferred to the District of Nebraska for disposition.