Two convicted in Pittsburgh, PA to WV and OH heroin distribution operation

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Joseph P. McKee, 25, of Wheeling, and Jeff R. Andlinger, 34, of Benwood, West Virginia were convicted of heroin trafficking this week in federal court, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.

The defendants each participated in a drug distribution network in which heroin was transported across state lines from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to locations in West Virginia and Ohio for redistribution and sale. They were among six individuals charged in an 18-count federal indictment in June 2015.

Andlinger sold heroin in January 2015 near a public elementary school in Marshall County, West Virginia. He pled guilty to one count of “Distribution of Heroin within 1,000 feet of a Protected Location.” He faces between one and forty years in prison and a fine of up to $2,000,000.

McKee conspired to possess and sell heroin in Marshall and Ohio Counties in West Virginia throughout 2014 and 2015. He pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Heroin.” He faces up to 20 years in prison 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 defendants.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Vogrin prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Marshall County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James E. Seibert presided.