Monroe County Man Sentenced To 30 Months In Federal Prison For Heroin Trafficking

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a Monroe County man was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment by Senior United States District Judge Edwin M. Kosik in Scranton for aiding and abetting the distribution of heroin.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Harry Rivera, age 39, of East Stroudsburg, pleaded guilty in July 2015 to the charges of aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute heroin.  Rivera and another man, Joseph Crawford, age 41, of Marshalls Creek, were indicted by a grand jury in Scranton in November 2014. The charges stemmed from an incident on June 17, 2014, in Monroe County, in which investigators found approximately 97 grams of heroin within a hidden compartment in a vehicle in which Rivera and Crawford were travelling. 

In addition to the prison term, Judge Kosik also ordered that Rivera be supervised by a probation officer for three years following his release from prison.

Previously, Joseph Crawford was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment by Judge Kosik on charges of possession with intent to distribute heroin and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The firearms charge resulted from a search of Crawford’s residence in Marshalls Creek in which police seized a Glock pistol and a Smith & Wesson rifle. Crawford, who was previously convicted of a felony offense, is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department and the Stroud Area Regional Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara.

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