GREAT FALLS — A judge has sentenced a man to an additional year in prison after the man escaped six months after being convicted for his role in defrauding a tribal youth program on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
Prosecutors say Gary Conti walked away from a minimum security prison in Colorado on Oct. 20, 2015. He made his way to Montana and crashed a borrowed vehicle after leading police on a high-speed chase to avoid re-capture.
U.S. District Judge Brian Morris sentenced Conti to serve an additional 12 months for escape after his original five-year sentence is up. Morris also ordered Conti to pay $51,880 in restitution.
Conti was convicted of participating in a scheme to defraud the Blackfeet tribe’s Po’Ka Project for troubled youth. He was a consultant for the program.