Monroe County Man Enters Guilty Plea To Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Charge

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Monroe County man pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in Scranton, before Senior United States District Judge Edwin M. Kosik, to the charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Scott Borushak, age 51, of Sciota, Monroe County, admitted to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the Monroe County area in 2013 and 2014.

Borushak was one of seven individuals indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2014, after an investigation conducted jointly by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department and the Stroud Regional Police Department.

Previously, Jeannine Altemose, age 53, of Stroudsburg, pleaded guilty and admitted to allowing methamphetamine to be stored and distributed from her residence.  The charges against the remaining defendants are currently pending.

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara.

A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

In this case, the maximum penalty for all charges under the federal statutes is imprisonment for 20 years, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.  Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public, and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs.  For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.