Farrell Resident Sentenced to 60 Months for Conspiring to Distribute Crack Cocaine and to Launder Drug Trafficking Proceeds

PITTSBURGH, PA – Eugene Phillips was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute crack cocaine and to launder drug trafficking proceeds, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

Phillips, age 31 of Farrell, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon. Judge Bissoon also ordered Phillips to serve four years of supervised release after his prison sentence.

Between March and June 2021, Phillips was detained at the Mercer County Jail because of state crack cocaine trafficking charges. The charges were pending until April 27, 2021, when he was convicted and sentenced to serve 27-54 months in state prison. During that time period, both prior to and after his state conviction and sentence, Phillips kept trafficking crack cocaine from the Mercer County Jail.

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

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Lawrence County Drug Task Force, the Mercer County Drug Task Force, the New Castle Police Department, the Sharon Police Department, the Hermitage Police Department, and the Farrell Police Department led the investigation resulting in the convictions and sentence in this case.

This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.