LEADER OF DRUG RING SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The leader of a major drug ring was sentenced to life in
federal prison without the possibility of parole, making him the second man
in the same methamphetamine network to receive a life sentence.

Alfredo Prieto, 37, of Parlier, Calif., was held accountable Friday for
trafficking 76 pounds of methamphetamine over a six-month period that ended
June 16, 1998.

In June, another leader in the drug organization, Juan Villanueva Monroy,
40, of St. Paul, also was sentenced to life in federal prison without parole
for trafficking 122 pounds.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Nolting said the two men will serve the rest
of their lives in prison because of their roles as leaders and because of
the large quantities of the drug being smuggled from Mexico into California
and then funneling it to the Twin Cities.