Ohio Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Role in Heroin Trafficking Conspiracy

PITTSBURGH – An Ohio resident has been sentenced in federal court to 10 years in prison followed by eight years supervised release on his conviction of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Christopher Butler, 32, of Twinsburg, Ohio.

According to information presented to the court, from in and around January 2016, and continuing thereafter to in and around September 2016 in the Western District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, Butler conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, a Schedule I controlled substance.

Assistant United States Attorney Amy L. Johnston prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Brady commended the OCDETF task force headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and comprised of members drawn from the FBI Greater Pittsburgh Safe Street Task Force including the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Wilkinsburg Police Department, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, and the Allegheny County Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Christopher Butler. Substantial assistance was provided by FBI San Juan, Puerto Rico (St. Thomas Resident Agency, U.S. Virgin Islands) and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Numerous other FBI field offices, including Detroit, Cleveland, New York, and Atlanta, in addition to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, also assisted with this investigation. The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.

This investigation which utilized Title III wiretap intercepts and other investigative techniques that established the existence of a several overlapping and interrelated drug distribution networks with tentacles in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Northern District of Ohio, Eastern District of Michigan and the District of the Virgin Islands. The FBI Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force’s focus began in early 2015 on a drug trafficking organization operating on Pittsburgh’s North Side and thereafter they were able to track drug suppliers beyond the borders of the aforementioned districts and across the Caribbean Sea.