Pennsylvania man pleads guilty to cocaine violation

Date: Aug. 28, 2024

Contact: [email protected]

Johnstown, PA - A resident of Leechburg, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

Ernest Clinton pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson.

In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, from in and around August 2018 to March 2023, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Clinton conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing cocaine. Clinton was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining cocaine that he distributed to others.

Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for Jan. 14, 2025. The law provides for a total sentence of not less than five years and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $5 million, or both.

Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard Jr. is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Clinton. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include IRS Criminal Investigation (CI), United States Postal Inspection Service, and other local law enforcement agencies.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multiagency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.