United States Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan announced today, February 8, 2008, that Sergeant Anton Arbatov, a member of the United States Army and a resident of El Paso, Texas, has been sentenced in federal court in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to three years of probation on his conviction of conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute quantities of cocaine and ecstacy.

United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Arbatov, age 28, of El Paso, Texas.

According to information presented to the court by Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch, Arbatov, prior to his service in the United States Army, during the period January 1999 through March 2005, conspired with other persons to distribute in excess of 500 grams of cocaine and a quantity of ecstacy.  During a significant portion of the conspiracy, Arbatov was employed as a bartender at the Bare Elegance strip club, formerly located on Liberty Avenue in the Strip District area of Pittsburgh.  Arbatov distributed cocaine to the owner of Bare Elegance, as well as to employees and patrons of the business in quantities ranging from 1/8 ounce to one ounce.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Schwab stated that he was substantially departing from the sentencing range called for by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, but given Arbatov's assistance to the government in the case of United States v. Curt Kosow, and Arbatov's exemplary military service, the sentence was appropriate and adequate.

Ms. Buchanan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Arbatov.