Ambridge Woman Sentenced for Role in Her Sons’ Fentanyl Trafficking Scheme

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – Dorothy McCracken was sentenced to 36 months of federal probation for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

McCracken, 60 of Ambridge, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Joy Flowers Conti. McCracken’s sentence includes a requirement that she perform 300 hours of community service.

McCracken’s indictment and conviction followed a 2016 investigation into the drug trafficking activities of her sons, Sam McCracken and Wayne McCracken. The investigation led to the interception of wiretapped communications over cell phones used by both McCracken brothers. The phone interceptions confirmed that the McCracken brothers were obtaining large amounts of fentanyl between July and December 2016. The phone interceptions, combined with the service of a search warrant in December 2016, confirmed that they were storing illegal drugs at Dorothy McCracken’s residence with her knowledge and consent.

Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.

A federally administered Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) conducted the investigation leading to the conviction and sentence in this case. The task force was headed by the Drug Enforcement Administration and was comprised of members drawn from the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Ambridge Police Department, New Brighton Police Department, Beaver Police Department, Aliquippa Police Department, Moon Township Police Department, Wilkinsburg Police Department, West Mifflin Police Department, Allegheny County Police Department, Duquesne Police Department, Munhall Police Department, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, and the Pennsylvania State Police. 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.