Assistant United States Attorney Jerome A. Moschetta is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. A notorious drug dealer who got his start during the crack epidemic of the 1980s and was so good at hiding his whereabouts that he was known as "the ghost" has been arrested along with dozens of . 25 people were indicted as part of a fentanyl trafficking ring. beef brisket wine pairing. Sign up below to receive 10% OFF your entire order! Zappala said the last time he recalls a similar situation was a bust in Penn Hills, where drugs were hidden within a false bottom in a vehicle. Allegheny County District Attorneys Office. It was. The drug traffickers cooked the speed at the house. Alyssa who is the National Director of Digital Marketing, joined the Banyan team in 2016, bringing her five-plus years of experience. The meth was still hot, Fountain said. Dave Heckman, of the state police at Uniontown, said nine undercover police officers were a part of the investigation, but did not take part in the raids to protect their identities. An official website of the United States government. uss canberra crew list. FBI, Pittsburgh police announce bust of large local fentanyl distribution ring. Fax:412-644-4549, Johnstown:814-533-4547 A subsequent search of Burnheimer's home found $70,000 inside and Burnheimer admitted to police he had used drug money to buy the home. Facebook. 22 at 8:30 a.m. Have a question about Government Services? There were 16.5 tons of the drug found in . Montgomery District Attorney Michael D. Marino said some of the drug ring members used a vacant house on Visitation Road in Evansburg State Park. Hanging out in the kitchen, a three-foot alligator nicknamed El Chompo by police was caught red handed. A few were considered "upper level" drug dealers for Fayette County. The ring was run by brothers Jamie Lightfoot Jr., 25, and Deaubre Lightfoot, 27, according to Brady, and included interstate drug trafficker Don Juan Mendoza, formerly of Lawrenceville, Ga. Brady said the drugs, which included heroin and marijuana in addition to the cocaine, were brought into the area in either a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van or a large RV. All the people indicted are from Philadelphia or New Jersey except one man from Florida. You will be found. The HIDTA designation of our largest counties enhances our ability to identify and dismantle international drug trafficking organizations which pose a serious, sustained threat to our communities. NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters) - U.S. law enforcement officials seized more than one ton of cocaine allegedly shipped to the New York area from Puerto Rico, the largest bust of the drug in the. "There are no boundaries in law enforcement in Fayette County today," said county District Attorney Nancy Vernon. Dozens of people were arrested and more than 9,000 packets of drugs were seized in a major heroin sweep in Hazelton, Pa. . One of the largest drug busts in the history of Pennsylvania was announced by Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Thursday. The team executed arrest warrants for Clark and Suggs Jr. with help from the Pennsylvania State Police and police departments in North Versailles and Swissvale. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than ten years to a maximum of life imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000,000, or both, as to each charged Defendant. One of the largest drug busts in the history of Pennsylvania was announced by Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Thursday. "Operation Tripwire," a two-year investigation with international, federal, state and local partners, identified and dismantled the organizations national network and operations from California and Arizona to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force made a record-setting drug seizure over the weekend when investigators discovered $14 million to $23 million worth of fentanyl in a Lynnwood home. The suspects were fingerprinted and processed in the basement of the East Side Fire Station in Connellsville and then taken to area district justices, where their bonds were set. women's college lacrosse workout program. Brady said agencies are seeing the drugs come into the area from places like Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown as well as drug cartels in Mexico such as the Sinaloa Cartel. Federal investigators continue to search for Todd Moses, 33, of Decatur, Ga. Moses, formerly of Donora, is one of 39 individuals indicted in a cocaine-trafficking ring Tuesday, April 24, 2018. Suggs is an alleged co-conspirator. According to the district attorneys office, it is believed the pair have spent the past two years transporting hundreds of kilograms of cocaine to communities in Allegheny County. It is organized by the Fayette County District Attorney's Office. On the other side of the state is Pittsburgh, the Steel City known in the past for its tough, blue-collar workforce. Drug and alcohol addiction is a nationwide epidemic, please reach out if you or a loved one is suffering. Domonique Taylor, 37, had his home on Moody Street in Pittsburgh's Braddock neighborhood searched as part of an investigation five police departments were assisting in since Aug. 2021. He'd been indicted on federal drug charges years earlier. All told, the amount of cocaine seized had a street value of $2 million. [4] Contents 1 Testimony 2 Verdict 2.1 Suspensions 3 Aftermath 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Testimony [ edit] Let's Find Out, PA County Wants To Make Its Own Gun Laws After Recent Court Defeat. It stretched from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles and included connections to Mexican cartels. Police seized 23 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $10 million while executing arrest warrants against two Philadelphia men in North Braddock on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. At least 29 people were arrested in a roundup that started at 6 a.m. For overdose and related medical emergencies please dial 911. FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Mike Christman called the operation a significant, coordinated effort from federal, state and local officials. She added that she feels 70 warrants issued in one day is an impressive amount for a small county. Our new Privacy Policy will go into effect on January 1st, 2023. September 4, 2020 / 4:45 PM Their estimated value is $450,000, state police said. Email. Jamaal Maragh (a/k/a Alrick Williams a/k/a Frederick Vanlierop), 38, of Turtle Creek, PA; Noel Perez Aguilar (a/k/a Venado), 48, of Los Angeles, CA; Juan Carlos Alejandres, 26, of Los Angeles, CA; Ramon S. Araiza-Vega, 27, of Rio Rico, AZ; Jose D. Delosrios Benitez (a/k/a McQueen), 30, of Inglewood, CA; Johnny Bravo, Jr., 32, of Los Angeles, CA; Antonio Egurrola-Gamboa (a/k/a Chango), 32, of Tucson, AZ; Roberto Egurrola-Vasquez (a/k/a Gordito), 32, of Tucson, AZ; Howard E. Johnson III, 30, of Pittsburgh, PA; Alexis A. Perez Lopez, 44, of Los Angeles, CA; Clayton F. Manning, 43, of Los Angeles, CA; Rachel M. Novalesi, 37, of Rochester, PA; Justo Edgardo Parra Jr., 28, of Nogales, AZ; Odean Samuels (a/k/a Martin ONeil, a/k/a Smokey), 32, of Canoga Park, CA; Manuel Silvestre, 49, of Los Angeles, CA; Steven L. Trent Jr., 50, of Penn Hills, PA; Darrick Watkins, 50, of Los Angeles, CA; and. Johnstown, PA 15901, Pittsburgh:412-644-3500 The raid started at approximately 6 a.m., when 56 officers from various municipalities from throughout the county were briefed and dispatched in five teams. According to authorities, the wiretaps, done in 1989, showed that the speed was delivered to Pirollo and Gatto, who took it to New Jersey to be cut and packaged. The 50 pounds of cocaine worth $10 million seized in North Braddock this week marked the region's biggest drug bust in recent memory, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala. April 14, 2021 / 3:14 AM 2023 Trib Total Media | All Rights Reserved. Fayette County law enforcement officials said Tuesday that they had conducted "the largest drug bust in the county's history.". JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A drug organization accused of funneling fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs into Johnstown from both coasts has been dismantled, resulting in charges against 31 people,. 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Our marketing agency in Pittsburgh is ready to help right now! In total, the drugs and money seized equaled nearly $100,000. Special agents with the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, using advanced analytical tools, are always on the look-out for those who seek to abuse the mail system by sending drug parcels in the mail," said USPS OIG Special Agent in Charge Kenneth Cleevely of the Eastern Area Field Office. Statistics and Facts About Binge Eating Disorder, Almond Mom Yolanda Hadid Fuels Diet Culture. Sgt. . Contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration if you need help for drug addiction at 1-800-662-4357, Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center refused to cooperate with audit, says PA Auditor General. Lock Following is a list of Fayette County residents who were issued warrants: Shelby Feniello, Caleb Langgle, James Cunningham, Mark Tressler, Francis Straughters, Gary Lewellen, Bart Yagla, Fred "Tony" Simon, Scott Lazar, Dale Gould, Jane Gould, Joseph Sherwood, Melissa Hall, Duane Brown, Andreas Key, Stanford Russell, Antwaun Bush, Dontay Stokes, Keith Thomas, Tyrone Brown, Dennis Stewart, Jamie Carraway, Michael Speddon, Thomas Teets, Joshua Snyder, Tabitha Steindl, Jeremy Showman. Also attending were Marino, Preate and officials representing the Philadelphia police, the district attorney, the New Jersey state police, the DEA and the U.S. Attorneys Office. Investigators say they believe that, since at least 2017, the drug ring involving Clark and Suggs Jr. has brought hundreds of kilograms of cocaine worth tens of millions of dollars from the city of Philadelphia into Western Pennsylvania neighborhoods. Three of the labs were in Philadelphia and one was in Union County. $500 million Pacific Ocean drug bust 105 ton marijuana drug bust 12 ton Coast Guard drug bust 13.8 . He noted that many drug users are now overdosing on deadly combinations of cocaine and fentanyl. "The Indiana County Drug Task Force was able to take one tip from a community member and turn it into a very sizable drug bust in a matter of days," said District Attorney Bob Manzi. Walp said $108,000 from the governors PennFree anti-drug program was key in the success of the operation. A 13-count indictment, which included charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, firearms violation and other crimes, named the following 28 people: Don Juan Mendoza, 38, of Lawrenceville, Ga. Jamie Lightfoot, Sr., 46, currently incarcerated at FCI Loretto. It was used to buy drugs and relocate and protect witnesses. 1:23 PHILADELPHIA Federal authorities have upped the amount of cocaine they seized from a ship at the Philadelphia port to more than 35,000 pounds, or 15,876 kilograms, making it the largest. TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. December 09, 2021 at 4:42 pm EST NOW PLAYING ABOVE 16 people in 5 states, including people in Pittsburgh, charged in massive DEA drug bust PITTSBURGH A federal drug investigation lasted. ", "We wont back down, communities need law enforcement to work together as weve done in Operation Tripwire," Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. Another lab was in Lower Providence Township, Montgomery County. Ages and addresses of the suspects were not available. This month the DEA made the biggest meth bust in American history: 2200 pounds of meth, nearly 900 pounds of cocaine, and 13 pounds of heroin. Police also seized a kilogram of heroin, 85 pounds of marijuana, an AK-47 rifle and a handgun, Brady said. A separate but related indictment for charges of conspiracy to traffic drugs named 11 people: Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Big prostitution bust at Pa. hotel nets 17 arrests Pictured are some of the suspects arrested after a major prostitution and drug sting at Monroe County hotel. Operation Crystal Shield involved 893 pounds of cocaine, 13 pounds of heroin, and around 2,224 pounds of methamphetamine, making it the biggest meth bust in U.S. history. An indictment is an accusation. A 26th person, Keith Redman, was also charged with one count of possessing a firearm and ammunition. "Most warrants were for delivery or conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance," said Burden. In between, Pennsylvania boasts vast areas of forest for which it got its name. 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