Pittsburgh Woman Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Participating in Painkiller Distribution Network

PITTSBURGH, PA – An Allegheny County resident has been sentenced in federal court to 48 months on her conviction of conspiring to possess and distribute opiate painkillers, oxycodone and oxymorphone, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Nicole Miller, age 31, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

According to information presented to the court, Miller participated in a criminal network of drug dealers who obtained opiate pain killers and then illegally distributed them to users in the Pittsburgh area. Miller recruited customers from a drug rehabilitation clinic, she arranged for sales of drugs to users, she arranged for payments to suppliers, she arranged for purchases from suppliers, and she performed various other functions in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy. She was on probation for two different offenses and on bond for a third when she committed the offenses at issue in this case. While her case was pending, Miller initiated a telephone call to a charged co-conspirator, William Richardson, in which Miller stated that she had identified the residence and vehicle of a Pittsburgh Police Officer who had participated in the investigation of criminal activity at the residence of Richardson and Miller. Miller was aware from that investigation that Richardson had multiple firearms, and in the intercepted phone call, Richardson made statements fairly constituting direct threats of physical violence as to the Police Officer.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, and Allegheny County Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Miller.