A UW-Madison graduate and friend of a missing Fitchburg man pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to taking part in a large scale marijuana distribution ring.

Destin Layne, 30, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who was a friend of Amos Mortier, 27, at the time he disappeared from his Fitchburg home under mysterious circumstances in 2004, admitted involvement in a distribution conspiracy involving other former UW-Madison students that brought thousands of pounds of marijuana to Madison from the East Coast.

Layne faces up to five years in prison, but under a plea agreement prosecutors would seek sentence reductions for her acceptance of responsibility and other reductions if she provides help to investigators. Layne is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb on Dec. 11.

Layne was the girlfriend of Reed Rogala, 32, of South Orange, N.J., who has also pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to taking part in the scheme. Rogala is in Dane County Jail awaiting sentencing on Nov. 6.

A written plea agreement for Layne makes no mention of Mortier, nor was he mentioned in court on Wednesday, but Rogala's written plea agreement stipulated that no statements he made would be used against him, except those pertaining to his "involvement, if any, in the murder of Amos Mortier."

Mortier was last seen on Nov. 8, 2004.

Investigators who have been trying for nearly four years to find out what happened to Mortier, including former Dane County Sheriff's Detective David Bongiovani and Fitchburg police Detective Shannan Sheil-Morgan, were present in the courtroom Wednesday when Layne pleaded guilty.

Layne's role, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Graber, was to use her near East Side home as a collection and distribution point for marijuana shipments brought in from the East Coast after Rogala left Madison for Vermont and after Rogala's former roommate, Brian Hutchinson, moved to the state of Oregon in 2003. Layne also sent money made from the sale of marijuana to Rogala, with whom she still was involved in a long-distance relationship, Graber said.

In all, six people have been charged or indicted in the conspiracy case. Two other friends of Mortier, Jacob Stadfeld, 32, and Brent Delzer, 34, are scheduled to be arraigned on conspiracy charges today after they were indicted last month by a grand jury.

Hutchinson, 34, has pleaded guilty to taking part in the conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 29. Another man, Hal Taback, who was allegedly among Rogala's marijuana sources has also been charged with involvement in the conspiracy but no court dates have been scheduled.