Maurice Kenneth Frezzell, Heroin Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2026

PITTSBURGH, PA – A notorious heroin dealer from Western Pennsylvania has been sentenced to nearly 29 years in federal prison for his role in the heroin epidemic that has ravaged the region.

Maurice Kenneth Frezzell, 35, was sentenced to a total of 345 months of incarceration by United States District Judges Arthur J. Schwab and David S. Cercone for his conviction of federal heroin charges.

According to U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady, Frezzell was a ‘career criminal’ and one of the most significant heroin and fentanyl dealers in Washington County.

Frezzell was convicted of selling two ‘bricks’ of heroin, containing a total of 1.784 grams of heroin, to a confidential informant.

A ‘brick’ is a street term for 50 stamp bags of heroin or other opiates.

Frezzell’s sentence was increased by 18 months due to the fact that he committed the crimes while on federal supervision.

Brady praised the work of the DEA and local law enforcement in bringing Frezzell to justice, saying that the people of Washington County are ‘safer today’ now that he is behind bars.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to prosecuting heroin and fentanyl dealers like Frezzell to the fullest extent of the law.

Frezzell’s case was part of the Opioid Strike Force, a federal initiative aimed at combating the opioid epidemic.

During the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that Frezzell was a much larger heroin dealer than the modest drug buy would indicate.

Testimony from DEA Task Force Officer Charles Tenny revealed that Frezzell was identified as one of the highest-ranking members of the drug trafficking organization that has plagued Western Pennsylvania in recent years.

The federal investigation began in August 2015, when large numbers of individuals began overdosing on high-quality heroin and the much more deadly synthetic opiate fentanyl.

Many of those people succumbed to the use of drugs packaged in stamp bags marked ‘Made in Columbia.’

Charts submitted as evidence showed that in 2014, there were 1.77 overdose deaths per 100,000 people in Washington County.

In 2016, after Frezzell was released on supervision, the number jumped to 51 per 100,000 residents.

The Washington County Coroner’s Office supplied statistics showing that a total of 62 people had died of overdoses in the 10 years between 1992 and 2002, for an average of six people per year.

That number increased to 73 in 2015 alone, and rose to 109 in 2016.

A map of the Washington County locations where the victims overdosed showed that the majority of the deaths were within five miles of locations associated with Frezzell.

According to evidence presented to the Court, Frezzell began his criminal career at the age of 12 years and 3 months, when he sexually assaulted a female victim twice in the same day.

His second arrest occurred days later, when he was arrested with crack cocaine.

Frezzell has had 23 arrests during the 23 years between his first crime and his current conviction.

He has spent essentially the entire 23-year period either pending trial, in custody, or on supervision.

The government noted that Frezzell was sentenced during his multiple juvenile cases to penalties including curfew, probation, house arrest, electronic home monitoring, Agape Day Treatment, Glen Mills School for Boys, Mel Blount Youth Home, Vision Quest Boot and Hat Camp, and ultimately, Abraxas.

The defendant was still on juvenile probation when he committed his first adult crime at the age of 18, when he was intoxicated and fled police with a concealed handgun with the serial number obliterated.

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