Repeat offender gets sentence for drugs

A Hungry Horse man arrested in July 2010 after selling methamphetamine to an informant was sentenced to more than seven years in prison Wednesday during a federal court session in Missoula.

Nicholas James Moskaloff, 33, previously had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

An investigation began after an informant told Montana Division of Criminal Investigations agents that Moskaloff had sold between 326 and 524 grams of methamphetamine from May to July 2010.

Agents monitored a controlled purchase of about one gram of the drug in a Kalispell parking lot on July 21 and subsequently arrested Moskaloff.

A search of his home yielded 17 firearms, marijuana and ledgers recording specific drug deals, according to an offer of proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Racicot

Digital scales, packaging materials and cash also were seized during the search.

At the time of his arrest, Moskaloff was on probation for a 2009 conviction for possession of a firearm by a user/addict of a controlled substance.

He was arrested Feb. 26, 2006, by Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputies who saw him shoot a firearm from his vehicle and later found marijuana and a pipe in his front pocket, according to court documents.

Moskaloff’s sentence includes five years of supervised release in addition to the 92-month prison sentence and a $100 fine.