Jefferson Co., IL — A Jefferson County man will spend almost two decades in federal prison on methamphetamine related charges. United States Attorney Stephen Wigginton, says Robert Tate, 31, of Mt. Vernon was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison. Wigginton says Tate was convicted of two charges, conspiracy to manufacture meth and distribution of meth. He acknowledges the sentence is lengthy and says, “Meth is a killer and destroyer of lives, and those who sell it do so knowing that they are killing people in our communities.”