Albany Dealer Anthoni Bassetti Cops 5 Years for Heroin, Meth Run

Anthoni Joseph Bassetti, 28, of Albany, Oregon, is headed to federal prison for five years after being sentenced for pushing lethal doses of heroin and methamphetamine across Linn County. The mid-level dealer’s criminal run ended in a flash of federal raids and wiretaps, culminating in a guilty plea and a 60-month sentence handed down in Portland.

Bassetti will serve 60 months behind bars followed by four years of supervised release, marking the end of a drug operation that fed addiction and instability in the heart of Oregon’s rural corridor. According to court documents, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) launched its investigation in January 2020, setting up two controlled buys that placed Bassetti directly in the crosshairs of federal prosecutors.

On March 6, 2020, agents stormed Bassetti’s Albany residence with a federal search warrant, seizing user quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. They also hauled out seven firearms — a dangerous combo that underscored the volatile nature of his operation. The weapons, though not tied to direct violence in this case, factored heavily into sentencing due to federal enhancements for drug dealers armed and active.

Bassetti was first charged by criminal complaint on March 3, 2020, for distribution of meth and heroin. A superseding charge followed on August 27, 2020, narrowing the case to meth distribution. After years of legal maneuvering, he waived indictment and pleaded guilty on August 9, 2021, avoiding trial but sealing his fate with a federal conviction that carries long-term consequences.

The takedown was a joint effort led by ATF and the Linn Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team (LINE), a coalition of local and state agencies including police from Albany, Lebanon, and Sweet Home, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, and the Oregon Army National Guard Counter Drug Task Force. The Corvallis Police Department and Benton County Sheriff’s Office Street Crimes Unit provided critical backup, highlighting the multi-jurisdictional reach of Oregon’s drug war.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. McLaren prosecuted the case, with Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug confirming the outcome. Heroin remains a leading killer in overdose deaths nationwide. If you or someone you know is battling addiction, help is available: call the Lines for Life helpline at 1-800-923-4357 or text “RecoveryNow” to 839863 between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. Pacific Time. Support never sleeps — because the streets don’t either.