Two get prison for drug ring roles
Two Westmoreland County members of a Philadelphia-based cocaine network have been sentenced to prison for their roles in importing $7 million worth of drugs into the county and laundering illicit proceeds through bogus auto leases.
Omar Bennett, 32, of Jeannette, was sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for his conviction in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. He already is serving a state prison sentence for another drug conviction.
Thomas Pennavaria, 57, of Murrysville, who pleaded guilty to money-laundering charges, was sentenced to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was fined $10,000.
Federal Judge Stewart Dalzell agreed to a defense request that he recommend that Pennavaria be allowed to serve his prison term at the federal facility in Loretto, Cambria County.
A third local member of the ring, Rakyym Hetherington, of Greensburg, has not been sentenced. Last August, Hetherington agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with federal authorities who broke up the West Philadelphia drug network.
Prosecutors said the ring headed by Courtney Carter, 36, and James "Giovanni" Patterson, 34, both Jamaican nationals, sold $24 million in drugs and was responsible for the fatal shooting of a rival drug gang member in Philadelphia.
Violence was a trademark of the gang, according to federal authorities. During Patterson's trial in April, prosecutors played a videotape of a 2001 daylight shootout in a south Philadelphia Kmart store after the kidnapping of Patterson's girlfriend and their children.
Patterson has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Carter, who pleaded guilty and testified for the government during his cohort's trial, will be sentenced later this year.
Pennavaria managed auto leasing companies in Murrysville -- J&B Motors Inc. and Leasing Unlimited. Prosecutors contend that he helped Carter and Patterson conceal the true lease owners of the luxury vehicles and helped arrange insurance coverage through the dealership.
