Braddock Man Sentenced in Crack Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy in Greenway Projects

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Braddock, PA, has been sentenced in federal court to 18 months’ imprisonment on his conviction of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Senior United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Bryan Smith, age 24.

According to information presented to the court, in 2017, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration initiated a wiretap investigation, primarily targeting the GBK street gang and drug trafficking in and around an area known as the Greenway Projects, located in the West End of the City of Pittsburgh. The wiretap investigation revealed that from in and around November 2017 through in and around June 2018, Bryan Smith and his co-conspirators distributed crack cocaine in and around the area of the Greenway Projects. Smith was the first of the 28 defendants charged in connection with this conspiracy to be sentenced.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Schwab stated that the sentence was sufficient but not greater than necessary to achieve the goals of sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorneys Tonya Sulia Goodman and Yvonne Saadi prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration along with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania State Police, Robinson Township Police Department, Stowe Township Police Department, Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Wilkinsburg Borough Police Department, and the McKees Rocks Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Smith.

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.