Port Vue Woman Sentenced to 6 Years for Role in New Jersey to Pittsburgh Heroin Pipeline

PITTSBURGH, PA - A resident of Port Vue, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to a term of imprisonment of six years (72 months), to be followed by four years of supervised release on her conviction of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Krystle Barretto, age 33.

According to information presented to the court, Barretto, who was intercepted over a Title III wiretap, conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distributed more than 100 grams of heroin. The court was further advised that Barretto arranged for approximately 500 bricks (i.e. 25,000 stamp bags) of heroin to be transported from the Paterson, New Jersey area to the McKeesport area, which was seized by law enforcement officers. In addition, the court was made aware that Barretto had a loaded, Glock 17, 9mm handgun, an additional five bricks of heroin, and a large money counter in the bedroom of her residence in Port Vue.

The investigation, which utilized Title III intercepts from December 2014 through April 2015 of 10 different cellular telephones, surveillance, controlled drug purchases, and other investigative techniques, established the existence of a number of overlapping and interrelated drug distribution networks at work in the afflicted regions, which included Clairton, McKeesport, Port Vue, areas in Washington County, Westmoreland County, and New Jersey.

Assistant United States Attorney Shanicka L. Kennedy prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

A federally administered Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) conducted the investigation led to the prosecution of Barretto. The task force is headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is comprised of members drawn from the FBI Greater Pittsburgh Safe Street Task Force including the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Clairton Police Department, Wilkinsburg Police Department, West Mifflin Police Department, Allegheny County Police Department, Duquesne Police Department, Munhall Police Department, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, and the Pennsylvania State Police. 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.