Monroe County Man Guilty In Black P-Stone’s Heroin Trafficking Conspiracy

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Arthur Taylor, age 36, of Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on February 1, 2019, before U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion to participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Taylor participated in a drug trafficking conspiracy that was responsible for distributing more than 100 grams of heroin (equivalent to more than 4,000 retail bags), marijuana, crack cocaine, percocet, and molly in the Poconos and in the state of Maine beginning in 2010 and for several years thereafter.

Taylor admitted to being a member of the Black P-Stones, a street gang whose male members were “beaten-in” to the gang and whose female members were” sexed-in” to the gang. Taylor and other P-Stones obtained heroin and other drugs from suppliers in New York and distributed them to others in Monroe County and in Maine. The P-Stones used females to transport the drugs to Maine.

Judge Mannion ordered a pre-sentence investigation to be completed. Sentencing for Taylor will be scheduled at a later date.

Taylor was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2018, as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, local and state police in Maine, the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, and local police in Monroe County. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin.  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 that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.      

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. The offense also carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.