Number of accused suspects grows to 26

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI and others are releasing details a day after charges against 24 suspects were unsealed in a federal court in Erie.

According to the FBI, the charges against the 26 represent the second-largest criminal case being prosecuted in Erie.
The investigation linked drug trafficking in Erie to cartels in Mexico, the FBI said
According to authorities, detectives seized 2 kilograms of cocaine, 12 pounds of methamphetamine, 2 kilograms of fentanyl powder, more than 20,000 fentanyl pills, $30,000 in cash, $20,000 in jewelry and 10 weapons.

(This story has been updated with new information.)

The Erie police operations and arrests this week were the culmination of a 10-month investigation in which investigators used wiretaps, undercover purchases and the seizure of airline luggage checked in Mexico to secure federal charges against a total of 26 suspects on weapons and drug charges, according to the FBI.

The indictments — nine in all — “accuse a network of overlapping regional drug dealers,” Eric Olshan, the U.S. attorney for the Pittsburgh-based Western District of Pennsylvania, which includes Erie, said Thursday during a news conference at Erie City Hall with other law enforcement officials.

The FBI said the charges against the 26 represent the second-largest criminal case being prosecuted in Erie, following the largest being the 58-defendant 4-Nation gang case in which federal charges were unsealed in May 2023.

All but five of the 26 suspects in the new case were arrested Wednesday in raids that came as charges against 24 suspects were unsealed in U.S. District Court in Erie. Two more suspects were previously charged and arrested.

The charges relate to trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine. Some suspects were charged with weapons possession.

Seizures included kilos of drugs and tens of thousands of dollars in cash

The 26 suspects were charged in a 10-month multi-agency investigation dubbed Operation Hot Block. The FBI said investigators seized 2 kilograms of cocaine, 12 pounds of meth, 2 kilograms of fentanyl powder, more than 20,000 fentanyl pills, $30,000 in cash, $20,000 in jewelry and 10 guns.

The 4-Nation case and the new case are “what we call ‘community impact proceedings,’” Olshan said. “Because they reflect our commitment — our shared commitment — to pursuing federal cases that have the greatest impact on public safety.

“These cases aren’t about the number of defendants charged,” Olshan said. “They’re about making a difference in the lives of everyday people who just want to walk down the street or go to a playground without fear of encountering violent, armed drug traffickers.”

The defendants are “the worst of the worst,” said Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny.

Erie research extends into Mexico

The investigation had an international scope, said Christopher Giordano, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, which includes Erie.

“We have linked this investigation to multiple Mexican cartels,” he said, “where narcotics were being brought directly across the border in checked baggage on airlines and into the Erie area.”

He said investigators seized luggage as they worked to unravel the drug plots, while also relying on wiretaps and undercover buys. Unlike the 4-Nation case, the suspects in the latest case were not part of a gang, Giordano said.

“There was no hierarchy,” he said. “This was a group of individuals who were causing violence and distributing narcotics and conspiring to do so.”

“These individuals are a plague on this community,” Giordano said.

Some of the suspects are also accused of illegally possessing handguns. One of them is accused of possessing two illegal “Glock switches,” which convert semi-automatic handguns into automatic weapons such as machine guns.

Federal government vows continued ‘determination’ in drug cases

Eighteen of the 24 defendants in the newly revealed cases were charged in two separate conspiracies — four were charged in one conspiracy and 14 in another. The other two defendants in the 24 newly revealed cases were charged in other cases, though two of those defendants were charged together.

To arrest the suspects, officers went to various neighborhoods of the city on Wednesday.

According to police and arrest records, arrests were made at residences including 400 West 31st Street, 500 West Fourth Street, 300 East 10th Street, 1800 Buffalo Road, 2700 German Street, 1900 East 26th Street, 400 Randolph Avenue and 1000 West 22nd Street.

A federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force coordinated the investigation. The Erie-based task force is called EAGLE, for Erie Area Gang Law Enforcement. Members include the state police, the Erie and Millcreek Township police, the Department of Homeland Security, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office and the Erie School District police.

According to Olshan, the US attorney general, the task force’s work is far from over.

“We know and have seen all too often that, regardless of location, when one drug network is taken down, another one steps in to fill the vacuum,” he said. “Drug dealers in Erie and everywhere else seem to believe there is plenty of their kind of work out there. But let me be clear: Our resolve is stronger than theirs.”

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