Seventeen people, some from Lawrence County, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh for violating federal narcotics, firearms and racketeering laws.
From September 2022 to March 2024, the defendants conspired to distribute cocaine throughout Western Pennsylvania, specifically in the New Castle and Youngstown areas, according to a Department of Justice report.
Members of the group would transport, either by person or mail, drugs from Puerto Rico to Western Pennsylvania and Ohio, the report says.
“Today’s indictments represent an important step toward dismantling a multi-state drug trafficking operation that brought significant quantities of cocaine from Puerto Rico to Western Pennsylvania and our neighbors in Ohio,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan. “Together with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we will continue to work collaboratively to keep our communities safe from drug traffickers and, in particular, those who choose to carry firearms in connection with their drug dealing.”
Lawrence County is one of six western Pennsylvania counties officially designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy. The county received the designation in July 2022, allowing it to receive dedicated federal resources to coordinate federal, state and local governments in fighting drug trafficking and abuse.
The defendants are Daniel Feliciano, 47; Luciano Bratini Rivera, 36; Markus Hobel, 34; Dorothy Myers, 41; Glenn Samuels, 32; Kevin Tulla Torres, 28; Luis Rivera Otero, 37; and Franchely Shymko Vazquez, 31, all of New Castle; Jamie Klinesmith, 39; Amanda Kelosky, 37; Thomas James Myers, 45; and Lindsay Ostrom, 37, all of Ellwood City; Roberto Muniz Sanchez, 45 of Rochester; Ruben Noel Sanchez, 28; and Rubel Sanchez, 21, both of Youngstown, Ohio; and Antonio Bernacett Rodriguez, 39; and Jean Sanchez Tulla, 37, both of Puerto Rico.
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