A 40-year-old man with ties to a violent drug ring that operated in Anchorage has received three life sentences for his crimes, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Stuart Seugasala, aka "Tone," received the lengthy sentence following a conviction in January on drug trafficking conspiracy and kidnapping charges, prosecutors said.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline also imposed a consecutive seven-year sentence for firearms offenses and concurrent 10-year sentences for violating health records laws.
"There is no parole in the federal penal system. Seugasala will spend the rest of his natural life in custody," Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Collins said in a prepared statement.
Seugasala directed members of his drug ring to invade drug houses and loot the competitors' stashes. He also was charged with torturing two men as "retribution" for unpaid drug debts, according to court records.
Prosecutors said an 18-month investigation ended in multiple arrests. Those arrested and charged included Seugasala; Phosavan Khamnivong, 35; Timothy Miller, 26; Anoai Sialofi, 26; and Laura Khamnivong, 33. Miller, Sialofi and Laura Khamnivong pleaded guilty before trial.
Seugasala and his co-defendants kidnapped, tortured and sexually assaulted two men because one of them owed Khamnivong money for heroin, prosecutors said. They recorded the rape of a man identified only as "Victim A" on a cellphone to use as an intimidation tool against others, prosecutors said.
Seugasala later called Stacy Laulu, a friend of his who worked at Providence Medical Center in Anchorage, to find out if the victims of his crimes had reported him to the police. Laulu accessed the victims' private medical files, prosecutors said.
Laulu went to trial with Seugasala and was convicted of violating privacy rights, which could come with a prison sentence up to 10 years. Her sentencing is set for May 29.
According to prosecutors, Judge Beistline commented while sentencing Seugasala, "You enjoyed being a drug kingpin, you seemed to enjoy the misery that you created and you enjoyed your criminal posse."
The judge said it was difficult to describe the revulsion the community felt for Seugasala's crimes.