Fentanyl Network Lands Reedsburg Woman in Federal Prison

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REEDSBURG, WI – Chrystal Mueller, 41, will spend the next year and a half behind bars after being sentenced yesterday for her part in a fentanyl distribution network flooding Wisconsin with the deadly opioid. Chief U.S. District Judge James Peterson slapped Mueller with an 18-month federal prison term followed by three years of supervised release.

According to court records, Mueller and her crew operated between January and April 2022, receiving shipments of fentanyl pills from California. The drugs were mailed to addresses linked to Mueller, who then pushed them onto the streets. She got a cut for facilitating the flow, authorities said.

Judge Peterson rejected a plea for probation, citing Mueller’s nearly two-year involvement and the fact that she roped her romantic partner into the scheme. It wasn’t a one-off; this was a sustained operation.

Kenneth Phillips, 40, of Wisconsin Dells, considered the ringleader, already received six years in prison last November. Another accomplice, Brandon Stevens, 40, also of Wisconsin Dells, a mail carrier with the USPS, got a year and a day for using his position to divert fentanyl-laced packages directly into Mueller’s hands. Stevens intercepted the parcels on his route, delivering them to Mueller instead of the intended recipient.

Investigators tracked 19 parcels originating in California over a three-month period. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service busted the operation in March and April 2022, intercepting packages containing the deadly pills. Ames Basham, another conspirator, has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing next month. The investigation was a joint effort between the USPS and the Wisconsin Department of Justice.