SCRANTON, PA — Casey Read, a 40-year-old resident of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, has been sentenced to 66 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani on December 19, 2023.
United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam stated that Read had previously pleaded guilty and confessed to obtaining between 40 and 160 grams of the potent synthetic opioid from co-conspirators Eric Hill, 34, and Candacelee Ellis, 37, both of Plymouth. Read then distributed the drug in the Luzerne County area throughout 2019 and 2020.
In August 2020, a grand jury indicted Read, Hill, and Ellis for their involvement in fentanyl trafficking. Prior to Read’s sentencing, Judge Mariani sentenced Hill to ten years in prison and Ellis to 30 months for their roles in the conspiracy.
The charges against the three defendants were the result of an investigation led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), in collaboration with the Kingston Police Department, the Luzerne County Drug Task Force, and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara prosecuted the case.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, has been at the center of the opioid crisis in the United States, causing a significant number of overdose deaths. The sentencing of Read, Hill, and Ellis represents a small but important victory in the ongoing battle against the widespread distribution and use of this deadly drug.
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