Bath salts kingpin sentenced to 137 months in federal prison

A bath salts kingpin with ties to Marquette, Baraga, Houghton and Ontonagon counties has been sentenced to 137 months in federal prison.

Scott Bernard Will, 56, of Mass City was given the 11-and-a-half-year term Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Marquette, where he was found guilty of distributing and conspiring to distribute alpha-PVP and pentylone last December. Two other accomplices who pled guilty and testified for the government during the trial were also sentenced. Derrick John Guzek, 34, also of Mass City, and Kristen Ellen Bergeron, 31, of Pelkie received terms of 16 and 18 months in prison.

U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar commented on Will’s extensive criminal history during the sentencing, noting that he was a “walking crime wave.” Evidence at the trial showed Will specifically targeted people with drug problems, offering bath salts to them free of charge. Once the user was hooked, Will charged up to $200 per gram. Will, Guzek and Bergeron were arrested in April 2013 after an undercover officer made numerous purchases of alpha-PVP and pentylone in Baraga and Houghton counties.

The case was investigated by the Michigan State Police, the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maarten Vermaat and Paul Lochner prosecuted the case.