Supplier to late judge Christ sentenced to eight months in prison

Augustus Stacker of Belleville, who confessed in October that he supplied the cocaine that probation officer James Fogarty sold to the late judge Joe Christ and others, was sentenced in federal court to eight months in prison and three years of supervised release.

U.S. District Judge David Herndon sentenced Stacker on Jan. 31 to a charge of distributing a mixture or substance containing cocaine.

Stacker’s presentence report, entered in December and revised in January, remains sealed.

Stacker had stipulated, along with U.S. Attorney Stephen Wigginton, that he purchased cocaine from persons in the Southern District of Illinois and redistributed it to Fogarty.

“One such transaction was captured on audio recordings as Fogarty arranged for Stacker to deliver cocaine to him,” they stipulated.

The transaction occurred on May 23, a day after drug agents arrested Fogarty.

After his arrest, Fogarty told federal agents that he sold cocaine to Christ a day before Christ and former Circuit Judge Michael Cook went to a hunting lodge in March in Pike County.

Christ was a long time St. Clair County assistant prosecutor who had only been a judge for about a week when he died March 10 of cocaine toxicity at the lodge owned by Cook’s father, Belleville attorney Bruce Cook.

Michael Cook was charged May 24 with possession of heroin and being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of firearms. He pleaded guilty in November and will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade on Feb. 26.

Fogarty, who pleaded guilty to supply Christ with cocaine, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael Reagan on Feb. 27.

Stacker is represented by public defender Todd Schultz.

Cook is represented by Thomas Q. Keefe, Jr. and others.

Fogarty is represented by Clyde Kuehn.