NEWS RELEASE

Former Weissport Mayor Sentenced to Prison for Gun Violation

      Martin C. Carlson, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a Carbon County man was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley to serve five and one-half months in prison for possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user of controlled substances.

     Carlson stated that Guy Frehulfer, also known as “Tinker,” age 53, who served as the Mayor and sewer authority manager of Weissport, previously pleaded guilty to committing the offense in 2005 in Carbon County. Frehulfer admitted to possessing a firearm while being a user of cocaine and crack cocaine.

     Frehulfer pleaded guilty in September 2006. He was charged as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police. Frehulfer was one of twenty people charged in the case. Seventeen defendants have entered guilty pleas to drug charges. Three of the defendants, Christopher Berry, Alan Holmes, and Juan Hiraldo, are awaiting trial.

     Judge Munley also ordered Frehulfer, who has already served his prison sentence, to be placed on two years of supervised release. Frehulfer must also pay a $100 special assessment.

     Carlson noted that the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.
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