Luzerne County Man Sentenced On Drug Trafficking Charges

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Anthony Joseph Nieves, age 32, of Pittston, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on September 4, 2025, to 105 months’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Joseph F. Saporito, Jr. for possession with intent to distribute five grams of fentanyl.

According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, in October of 2024, members of the Pittston City Police Department used a confidential informant to purchase fentanyl from Nieves on multiple occasions.  On November 1, 2024, investigators executed a search warrant at Nieves’ home and seized fentanyl, drug trafficking paraphernalia, $1,274 in cash, and body armor from the residence. This is Nieves’ fifth drug trafficking conviction. 

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pittston City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts prosecuted the case.

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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case was also 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.

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