Monroe County Man Guilty Of Heroin Conspiracy

SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that Eddie Pace, age 44, of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin and more than 500 grams of cocaine, before Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Pace admitted to committing the offense between 2012 and 2015. Pace also admitted to conspiring with others to travel to Patterson, New Jersey, to obtain multiple bricks of heroin which were then sold to sub-distributors and customers from Pace’s barbershop in the Monroe County area of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. One hundred grams of heroin is equivalent to approximately 4,000 retail bags of heroin.

Pace was one of seven people charged by a federal grand jury in a superseding indictment in March 2015. The others charged—Shawnette Isaac, Daryl Trent, Myron Owens, William Young, Catherine Abbey, and Anton Woodson—all previously entered guilty pleas in the case. Trent was recently sentenced to 90 months’ imprisonment on drug and gun charges, and Isaac was recently sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment for her role in the drug conspiracy. The other defendants are awaiting sentencing.

Judge Munley ordered a presentence report to be completed, and scheduled Pace’s sentencing for December 14, 2018.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, and local police from Monroe County. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

This case was also brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.       

The maximum penalty under federal law is life in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. There is also a mandatory minimum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.