Convicted fentanyl dealer known as ‘Italian Stallion’ stopped on way to Whatcom deal
A Snohomish man known as the “Italian Stallion,” who last week was sentenced to 78 months in prison for dealing fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine, is back in jail after being arrested while reportedly on his way to a drug deal in Whatcom County.
Michael John Scott, 41, was booked into the Whatcom County Jail on Thursday evening, Jan. 30, on a federal hold. Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Kevin Hester told The Bellingham Herald that Scott was arrested in a joint operation by the DEA and the Whatcom Gang and Drug Task Force.
Scott was released on bond following his Jan. 24 sentencing hearing, according to a Department of Justice press release Friday, Jan. 31. While he was awaiting his prison assignment, Scott allegedly continued to set up deals for fentanyl-laced pills.
He is now charged with possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and felony possession of a firearm, the release stated.
“Not even a federal prison sentence could deter this defendant from the lure of cash generated by his drug dealing,” U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran said in the release. “He has repeatedly lived a lavish lifestyle funded by drug money, despite a state drug trafficking conviction in 2013, and a federal conviction in 2019.
“With this third arrest for trafficking dangerous fentanyl-laced pills, his lifestyle will be limited to a federal prison cell for quite some time.”
According to court records, Scott pleaded guilty in June 2019 for his role in a 32-defendant drug-trafficking case that was unsealed in 2018.
Scott was a high-volume redistributor of fentanyl-laced imitation oxycodone pills and cocaine, the release stated, and he delivered hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to cartel suppliers for the drugs. Some exchanges were for more than $150,000 at a time..
Law enforcement searched Scott’s home in 2018 and recovered illegal drugs, $40,000 in cash and other tools used in the drug trade, according to the release.
While Scott was awaiting sentencing, he communicated with a confidential source and offered fentanyl pills for sale, the release reported. The source agreed to meet and purchase the pills, and law enforcement stopped Scott’s car on Interstate 5 as he reportedly traveled to Whatcom County to make the deal.
Investigators found nine baggies, each of which contained approximately 100 pills that appeared to be fake oxycodone, according to the release, as well as heroin and cash.
Law enforcement also served a search warrant on Scott’s home and found more drugs and cash and in his bedside table there was a loaded firearm that was reported stolen from King County in November 2019.
This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 4:57 PM.
