Marengo man charged with aiding fugitive sentenced to probation

A Marengo man accused of aiding a fugitive wanted on a charge of drug-induced homicide pleaded guilty last week and was sentenced to two years of probation, McHenry County court records show.

Paul R. Moser, 63, was accused of helping Melissa Ryan, charged with delivering a dose of fentanyl that killed a man in Marengo, avoid arrest by telling her when the police were present or not near his home and providing false information to a Marengo police detective, according to the indictment.

Ryan, 36, was arrested in September, nearly two weeks after a warrant was issued for her arrest. The case against her is ongoing.

The former DeKalb resident pleaded not guilty in December to drug-induced homicide, a Class X felony. If convicted, she faces a possible sentence of decades in prison. She also was charged with possession with intent to deliver fentanyl and possession of less than 15 grams of heroin, court records show.

Ryan is accused of delivering less than a gram of fentanyl to Michael David Mancuso – a Woodstock native who lived in Mesa, Arizona, according to his obituary – about 8 p.m. on or about July 15, which he inhaled and later died from, according to the criminal complaint.

Moser is the owner of the house where Michael David Mancuso died of an overdose and where Ryan was living at the time, court records show.

Moser pleaded guilty April 5 to one count of concealing or aiding a fugitive. In exchange, a second count of the same charge was dismissed by prosecutors, court records show.

McHenry County Judge James Cowlin sentenced Moser to two years of felony probation and six days in jail, which is considered served with the three days he spent in custody after his initial arrest, according to the judge’s order.

Moser also was ordered not to consume illegal drugs, alcohol or THC unless prescribed and must undergo drug and alcohol testing if his probation officer requires it. He also must pay about $1,800 in fines and fees.