Pittsburgh man nabbed by FBI wiretap gets 5 years for fentanyl conspiracy

A Pittsburgh man nabbed in an FBI wiretap investigation into a three-county drug ring was sentenced to five years in prison for plotting to sell more than 40 grams of fentanyl, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Adrian Jordan, 29, who lives near where Pittsburgh meets Mt. Oliver, took a plea deal in March, court records show. He pleaded guilty to the fentanyl conspiracy in exchange for dropping several related drug charges.

Chief U.S. District Judge Mark R. Hornak on Friday imposed the sentence of five years in jail followed by four years of probation, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said.

The FBI and local police intercepted Jordan discussing drug transactions during the year-long investigation into a “large-scale drug trafficking operation” spanning Butler, Beaver and Allegheny counties, Brady said.

In addition to the recorded evidence, authorities also twice found Jordan to be in possession of fentanyl, on Dec. 16, 2016, and again on Feb. 24, 2017.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid painkiller that can be 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin. As little as 2 or 3 nanograms of fentanyl per milliliter of blood can be deadly.

Jordan completed a substance abuse treatment program at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in December, records show.

“I would like to apologize to the courts, my community, my family, the youth that I mentored, my daughter and friends,” Jordan wrote in a letter to the court filed July 8. “My actions took a toll on a lot of people, especially my mother, daughter and the youth that I taught trades and was always there for in a time of need.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Schupanksy prosecuted the case.

The FBI’s Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force had help from state police, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and police from Cranberry and New Brighton.