COLUMBIA COUNTY DRUG DEALER SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON

Martin C. Carlson, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a Columbia County man was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Edwin M. Kosik to serve 36 months in prison for his role in a methamphetamine and marijuana trafficking conspiracy that operated in six Pennsylvania counties during 1995 through 2003.

Carlson stated that John Rundle, age 44, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and marijuana in Columbia, Montour, Luzerne, Lycoming, Northumberland, and Schuylkill Counties.

Rundle was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2003, as a result of an investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police, the Columbia County Drug Task Force, the FBI, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. Rundle was one of eight people indicted in the case. Six of the defendants, including Rundle, entered guilty pleas to drug charges. Two of the defendants, Steven Fausnaught and Charles Sechler, were convicted of conspiracy and related offenses after a jury trial.

Judge Kosik also ordered Rundle to be placed on five years of supervised release after serving his prison sentence. Rundle 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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