Monroe County Man Pleads Guilty To Federal Heroin Trafficking Offense

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Monroe County man pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick to a federal heroin trafficking charge.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Sal DiPalma, age 45, of East Stroudsburg, Monroe County, admitted to the charge of aiding and abetting the distribution of heroin.  DiPalma was indicted by a grand jury in April 2015.

The charges stem from an incident in which DiPalma helped to arrange for a sale of heroin between Eric Rabb, age 45, of East Stroudsburg, and another individual who was working for police investigators.   On October 23, 2013, Rabb and DiPalma were arrested by investigators as they were about to distribute the heroin to the other individual.

The investigation was conducted by the Lackawanna County Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office and the Wayne County District Attorney’s Office.

Eric Rabb previously pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to distribute heroin and is awaiting sentencing.

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

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

The maximum penalty under federal law is 20 years of imprisonment, 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.

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