Doron McCarthy, Heroin Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2021

PITTSBURGH, PA – A Pittsburgh resident has pleaded guilty to violating federal narcotics laws, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.

Doron McCarthy, 29, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin before United States District Judge William S. Stickman, IV, on May 4, 2021.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that McCarthy conspired to distribute and possessed with intent to distribute heroin from September 2018 through October 2019.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating a heroin trafficking organization operating throughout the greater Pittsburgh area in 2018, in which McCarthy was a member. Beginning in February 2019 and continuing through September 2019, the FBI initiated a Title III wiretap investigation into the organization.

McCarthy was intercepted communicating with his codefendants about acquiring quantities of heroin, prices of heroin, and the purity of the heroin. Through extensive physical and electronic surveillance, McCarthy was observed meeting with his co-conspirators to conduct heroin transactions.

According to the law, the maximum total sentence McCarthy may face is 20 years in prison, a fine not to exceed $1,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Mark V. Gurzo is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Allegheny County Police Department, the Stowe Township Police Department, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, the North Versailles Police Department, the Allegheny County Port Authority Police Department, the Munhall Police Department, and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation leading to the prosecution of McCarthy.

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