SCRANTON, PA — Before U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion, Lee Crawford, age 61, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on August 28, 2023, to the charge of conspiracy to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl and the charge of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Crawford admitted to conspiring with a co-defendant, John Williams, age 43, of Kingston, and with others, to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl in the Luzerne County area between July 2020 and February 2021. Investigators made several purchases of fentanyl from Crawford and then obtained a search warrant for Crawford’s residence in Wilkes-Barre, where an additional amount of fentanyl was seized. Crawford also admitted to a separate charge of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl resulting from the search of his residence.
Williams previously pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl and is awaiting sentencing.
The charges against the defendants resulted from an investigation conducted by the Kingston Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, and the Luzerne County Drug Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara is prosecuting the case.
Under federal law, Crawford faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison, up to a maximum sentence of life in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
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