33 charged in multimillion-dollar heroin operation in Western Pennsylvania
Agents from the state Attorney General's office charged 33 people from six Western Pennsylvania counties with involvement in a multimillion-dollar heroin ring they say was headed by a Pittsburgh man.
Attorney General Kathleen Kane said a grand jury investigation recommended the charges after determining the trafficking organization distributed 9,100 bricks of heroin valued at more than $2.7 million over a 13-month period through March.
Agents allege Curtis M. Harper, 41, of the East Hills section, headed the organization and oversaw the sale of approximately 25 bricks per day, primarily in the Johnstown area of Cambria County.
A brick contains 50 bags of heroin, and investigators said by charging $200 to $300 per brick, Harper earned between $150,000 and $225,000 per month.
Authorities seized five handguns, two of which were reported stolen; about $60,000; 133 bricks of heroin valued at $46,500; and four vehicles, including a 2009 Mercedes Benz and a 2010 Acura.
Harper was arraigned in Cambria County Friday morning on one count each of criminal conspiracy, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity. Other charges include two counts each of corrupt organizations, receiving stolen property and persons not to possess a firearm, as well as 49 counts of delivery of heroin.
Harper was released after posting $100,000 cash bond before District Judge John Barron pending a preliminary hearing May 5, according to online records.
Using wiretaps and informants, agents charged 32 others in the drug ring, including Harper's mother, Denise, 61, also of East Hills, who they allege helped distribute heroin throughout Cambria and portions of Allegheny, Indiana, Somerset, Blair and Huntingdon counties.
“This was a case where heroin was being sold in public housing complexes where many children live,” Kane said. “The work of our agents and law enforcement partners will have a substantial impact on the communities where these drugs were being sold.”
The investigation, coined “Operation Flood City Smackdown,” was a joint operation between the attorney general's bureau of narcotics, the FBI, members of the Cambria County Drug Task Force and several local police departments, Kane said.
Other Allegheny County residents charged were Melvin Jones, 36; Jordan Armstrong-Coles, 24; Stephanie Clemm, 34, and Tara Dunning, 33, all in Pittsburgh, and Brandi Wheeler, 37, of Wilkinsburg.
Four Somerset County residents charged were Jackie Geisel, 30; Roman Geisel, 31; Shawn Miller, 45, all of Windber, and Brandon Emeigh, 31, of Somerset. Also charged is Sara Wilcox, 29, of Indiana in Indiana County.
Paul Peirce is a reporter for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at ppeirce@tribweb.com or 724-850-2860.
