Three former leaders of the Stillaguamish Tribe of Washington received prison sentences for failing to pay state taxes on cigarettes they sold.

Edward Leverne Goodridge Sr., 60, and his son, Edward Goodridge, 33, each received 14 months in prison, while a cousin, Sara Lee Schroedl, 40, received eight months. All were former council members who ran the Blue Stilly Smoke Shop.

A fourth person, Linda Loy Goodridge, the wife of the elder Goodridge, sentenced to four months of home confinement and two years of supervised release. All four were ordered to pay a total of $26 million in restitution.

Federal prosecutors said the Blue Stilly Smoke Shop failed to pay state taxes on nearly 2 million cartons of contraband cigarettes.

Get the Story:
Former tribal officials get prison terms for cigarette scam (The Seattle Times 3/17)
Former Stillaguamish tribal leaders sentenced to prison (The Everett Herald 3/17)
Blue Stilly smoke shop owners get prison terms (The Puget Sound Business Journal 3/16)