Shamokin man sentenced for role in conspiracy to distribute heroin

By Kaylee Lindenmuth

SHAMOKIN, Northumberland County – A Shamokin man was sentenced for his role in a conspiracy to sell heroin, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced Monday.

Adam Poeth, 33, of Shamokin, was sentenced on March 27 to 48 months’ imprisonment followed by a 4-year term of supervised release for conspiring to sell 100 grams or more of heroin. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, that is equivalent to 4,000 individual doses of heroin.

Poeth pled guilty to in August of last year to conspiring with others to distribute heroin, according to U.S. Attorney David J. Freed. Co-defendant Chad Snyder was sentenced to time-served followed by a 3-year term of supervised release in February, while co-defendant Frank Galasso, 65, of Sunbury, is awaiting trial.

The investigation was conducted by the Berwick Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin,” the office said in a media release. “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.”

“This case was also brought as 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. The Department of Justice 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.”

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