Rand Wolford, Narcotics Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2023

PITTSBURGH, PA – A former resident of Braddock, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 60 months’ imprisonment and four years of supervised release on his conviction of narcotics trafficking, announced United States Attorney Scott W. Brady today.

Rand Wolford, 32, was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab after pleading guilty to possessing with intent to distribute and distributing controlled substances.

The Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force conducted a long-term investigation into the SCO gang’s activities in and around Braddock, identifying Wolford and others as members or associates. In January 2019, investigators obtained authorization for a federal wire investigation, which continued until May 2019.

Wolford and 32 others were indicted in June 2019 on three separate indictments related to the conspiracy. The court was informed that intercepted communications confirmed Wolford’s involvement in the conspiracy, including conspiring to distribute multiple ounce quantities of cocaine base, also known as crack, into the community.

Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. United States Attorney Brady commended the multi-agency team, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for their work in bringing Wolford to justice.

The investigation involved numerous agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force, and the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office. The case was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program.

Wolford’s guilty plea revealed that he was responsible for distributing multiple ounce quantities of cocaine base into the community, and that he met with other members of the conspiracy to process cocaine into cocaine base in Braddock.

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