Greensburg man found guilty on federal drug charges
A Greensburg man who is already serving a state prison sentence for selling drugs was found guilty Thursday on federal drug charges in Philadelphia.
Omar Bennett, 31, faces at least 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced Aug. 3 in U.S. District Court by Judge Stewart Dalzell. In Westmoreland County, he also was sentenced to a term of three to six years on drug charges for his role in a multimillion-dollar drug ring.
Bennett was part of a 37-member drug gang that shipped $7 million worth of cocaine and cocaine paste into the county from 1996 until 2001 when county and state authorities dismantled it after a state grand jury probe. The local distribution network was headed by Rakyym Hetherington, of Greensburg, who pleaded guilty and agreed to testify for federal prosecutors. Hetherington, who is awaiting sentencing, faces at least 10 years in prison.
Another defendant, Thomas Pennavaria, 57, of Murrysville, pleaded guilty earlier this month to helping the drug ring launder money. He also awaits sentencing.
Authorities said the drug ring, which sold more than $24 million in drugs from its West Philadelphia base, was headed by James "Giovanni Love" Patterson and Courtney "C-Murder" Carter. Patterson also was found guilty this week and faces life in prison when he is sentenced. Carter, who pleaded guilty, agreed to testify for the prosecution. He has not been sentenced.
A total of 16 other witnesses already entered guilty pleas, records show. The ring was noted for its violence, use of guns and murder to settle scores and known for the nicknames of its members -- "Shu Shu," "Meenie," "Day Dollars" and "Young Snoopy."
Dalzell sentenced two other members of the ring to life prison terms this week.
Christopher "Shaky" Williams, 22, and Christopher "Jughead" Smith, 23, identified as enforcers for the ring, were sentenced by Dalzell to life terms for killing a member of a rival drug gang. Police said they shot the victim six times at point-blank range on a Philadelphia street corner where he was selling cocaine.
Records show Bennett and Hetherington ran a Westmoreland County-based branch of the Philadelphia network and met with Patterson and Carter locally to discuss distribution. The gang used a series of motels to distribute cocaine to buyers, police said.
The network was dismantled after police arrested a member of the ring who was carrying a large amount of cocaine. The man reportedly agreed to become an informant and secretly recorded conversations with Hetherington and Bennett, who also resorted to violence to maintain discipline.
Once, in retaliation for a stolen kilogram of cocaine, the two men allegedly beat a woman with a telephone so badly that she required treatment. Even after she was promised immunity from prosecution, the woman reportedly lied about how she was injured and later was charged with perjury.
After the men were charged by a state grand jury, a federal grand jury began investigating the Philadelphia drug ring and eventually indicted Hetherington, Bennett and Pennavaria.
Using Pennavaria's auto leasing business, J & B Motor Cars Inc., Hetherington and Bennett leased cars for members of the ring so they could evade police surveillance, records show. The cars were leased under the names of legitimate owners, but the monthly payments were made by members of the drug ring. Pennavaria also provided car insurance through his leasing agency.
