Arnold resident convicted of cocaine trafficking sentenced to 11 years in prison
An Arnold resident, one of 57 people charged last year as part of a four-year, nationwide investigation, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for trafficking cocaine.
Senior U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence Thursday on Milton Paschal, 44. His jail term on convictions of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine will be followed by six years of supervised release.
Paschal pleaded guilty April 2 to violating federal narcotics laws.
The investigation, dubbed Operation Lake Effect, began with street-level drug activity in Johnstown and then unfolded across the country. The investigation led to Phoenix, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Las Vegas and Mexico.
On March 2, 2023, 24 people were arrested in Western Pennsylvania and 21 were arrested in Arizona. More than 673 pounds of fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills and more than 400 pounds of methamphetamine were seized.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Paschal conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of a mixture of a substance containing cocaine from around September 2021 to March 2023. He also possessed with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing cocaine in December 2022.
Paschal was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of cocaine that he distributed to others, authorities said.
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a TribLive reporter covering news in New Kensington, Arnold and Plum. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, Brian has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
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