Johnstown man pleads guilty in 2021 drug trafficking case | State

A Johnstown man has pleaded guilty in federal court to violating federal drug laws, U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced Monday.

Rodney Smith, 68, was one of 31 people indicted by a federal court grand jury in Johnstown in August 2021 on charges of violating federal drug laws. The case centered on Cambria and Indiana counties. Among the 29 Pennsylvanians charged, most were Johnstown residents, but four were from Philadelphia, one from Conshohocken, one from Turtle Creek and one from Indiana.

Smith pleaded guilty to the first count of the new indictment before Senior U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson.

According to a Department of Justice press release, from approximately January 2021 to approximately June 2021 in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Smith conspired with others to distribute and process with intent to distribute quantities of heroin, cocaine, and cocaine base in the form commonly known as “crack.” Smith was intercepted in a federal wiretap that identified quantities of the drugs he distributed to others.

“With this indictment, we have dismantled a major drug trafficking organization that operated in Johnstown and beyond,” Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman said in 2021. “Restoring safe and drug-free neighborhoods for the law-abiding citizens of our communities remains our only goal.”

Judge Gibson has scheduled sentencing for January 13, 2025. The law provides for a total sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, or both. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would depend on the severity of the offense and any prior criminal record the defendant may have.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations of the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the indictment of Smith.

Other agencies involved in the investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Internal Revenue Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office; Pennsylvania State Police; Cambria County District Attorney's Office; Indiana County District Attorney's Office; Cambria County Sheriff's Office; Cambria Township Police Department; Indiana Borough Police Department; Johnstown Police Department; Upper Yoder Township Police Department; Richland Police Department; Ferndale Police Department, and other local law enforcement agencies.

This prosecution was part of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Task Force to combat organized crime. The OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by employing a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement against criminal networks.

“Every day, residents of our county are impacted by the scourge of drug trafficking,” Indiana District Attorney Robert F. Manzi Jr. said in 2021. “Crimes such as thefts, driving under the influence, assaults and even murder are committed solely to raise money to purchase more drugs. Collaboration between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies focusing our collective efforts on stopping large-scale drug trafficking activities helps everyone in our community.”