Ohio man admits to drug conspiracy

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Ryan Thomas Savage, of Wintersville, Ohio, has admitted to a cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl distribution operation, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
 
Savage, age 37, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine Hydrochloride, Cocaine Base, Heroin, and Fentanyl.” Savage admitted to working with others to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin and fentanyl in Hancock County and elsewhere from February 2018 to August 2019.

Savage faces up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Danae DeMasi-Lemon and Robert H. McWilliams, Jr. are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration; the Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the Marshall County Drug & Violent Crimes task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; The Ohio Valley Drug & Violent Crimes task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Jefferson County, Ohio, Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force; the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office; the Brooke County Sheriff’s Office; the Weirton Police Department; and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Police investigated. 

The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided.