Father, Son Dealt Drugs Over Dark Web

COSTA MESA, CA — A week and a half after a jury found his father guilty of federal drug charges, an Irvine man who with his dad illegally distributed methamphetamine on the darknet pleaded guilty Monday to a drug distribution charge, prosecutors said.

William Thomas Glarner IV, 34, pleaded guilty to a felony count of possession with the intent to distribute meth and is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 23. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life behind bars, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

His 61-year-old father, William Thomas Glarner III, was convicted June 6 of three methamphetamine distribution-related charges. The Huntington Beach resident is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 9 and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.

The younger Glarner admitted in his plea agreement that he used at least three monikers to obscure his true identity on the darknet, including on the "Tor" darknet browser, where he conducted more than 1,500 sales of controlled substances, including methamphetamine.

The "darknet" refers to computer networks that provide greater anonymity, allowing vendors to sell goods and services with virtual currency.

According to court papers, the younger Glarner obtained his supply from various sources, and along with others, mailed the drugs to darknet customers nationwide via U.S. mail and commercial couriers.

Authorities recovered 5.5 pounds of meth in a search of the defendant's home and car on March 14, prosecutors said.
His father was identified as part of the overall investigation into his son's darknet activity and charged separately, according to prosecutors, who said he was found guilty of the three meth distribution-related charges on June 6 after a four-day trial.

The elder Glarner was observed mailing packages of meth, including one to a darknet customer, according to evidence presented at his trial. A search warrant executed on March 14 on Glarner III and his vehicle resulted in the seizure of 3.1 pounds of meth, prosecutors said.

The case was investigated by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the La Habra, Costa Mesa, Brea and he Cypress police departments and the Cass County Drug Task Force of North Dakota.