ALLENTOWN MAN WHO SOLD DRUGS IN CARBON COUNTY SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON

Martin C. Carlson, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that an Allentown man who participated in a cocaine and crack cocaine trafficking conspiracy that operated in Carbon County during 2006 and 2007, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley to serve five years in federal prison.

Carlson stated that Maurice Laseter, age 29, who used the street name “Mo,” previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine and more than five grams of crack cocaine. Laseter was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 4, 2007, as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Pennsylvania State Police, and local police in Carbon County. Laseter was one of 11 defendants charged in the case. Nine of the defendants have entered guilty pleas in federal court. One defendant is a fugitive. The alleged leader of the drug ring, Imani Simelani, is awaiting trial.

Judge Munley also ordered Laseter to serve four years of supervised release after serving his prison sentence, and to pay a special assessment of $100.

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

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