United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BOISE - A Boise man and an Arizona man were sentenced to federal prison for conspiracy and for possessing methamphetamine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute it to others.

Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye sentenced Derek J. Tuschoff, 36, of Boise, to seven years imprisonment and Robert B. Mahan Jr., 38, of Phoenix, to ten years imprisonment. Both Tuschoff and Mahan were ordered to serve five years of supervised release upon completion of their prison sentences.

According to court records, beginning in January 2019, law enforcement investigated Tuschoff for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine in the Treasure Valley. In May 2019, Tuschoff was monitored by law enforcement while he traveled from Boise to Phoenix to meet with individuals that investigators believed were his drug suppliers. Later, in July 2019, Tuschoff met with one of these suppliers, Mahan, at a hotel in Pocatello. After leaving the hotel and while driving back towards Boise, Tuschoff was stopped and arrested by law enforcement officers. Investigators found approximately two pounds of methamphetamine and 234 fentanyl pills in Tuschoff’s car. The following day when law enforcement officers arrested Mahan, they found more methamphetamine, heroin, and 196 fentanyl pills. Law enforcement officers also recovered $37,775 of drug proceeds hidden in Mahan’s car.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., of the District of Idaho made the announcement and commended the cooperative efforts of the Idaho State Police, Drug Enforcement Administration, Boise Police Department, Fort Hall Police Department, and members of the BADGES Task Force that include investigators from the Pocatello Police Department, Chubbuck Police Department, and Bannock County Sheriff's Office.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

This case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office with funds provided by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program. HIDTA is part of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. It provides assistance to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States. Idaho is part of the Oregon-Idaho HIDTA. The Idaho HIDTA is a collaboration of local, multi-jurisdictional law enforcement drug task forces, and prosecuting agencies dedicated to addressing regional drug trafficking organizations that operate in Ada, Canyon, Bannock, Kootenai, and Malheur Counties.