Lackawanna County Man Pleads Guilty To Drug Distribution Resulting In Death

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Matthew McCollum, age 34, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, pled guilty on July 2, 2018, before Senior United States District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo for drug distribution resulting in death.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, McCollum pled guilty to unlawful distribution of heroin and fentanyl resulting in death.  McCollum was indicted along with Josthan Cardona, age 26, and Holly Kaszuba, age 43, both of Scranton, by a grand jury in Scranton on August 23, 2017.  Kaszuba is charged with the distribution of heroin and fentanyl resulting in death.  Cardona is charged with the distribution of heroin and fentanyl resulting in two deaths and one overdose.  The two deaths and the overdose occurred in December 2015.  Cardona and Kaszuba are scheduled for trial on October 1, 2018.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration – Scranton Office, the Dunmore and Scranton Police Departments, and the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.         

# # #