Former Allegheny County Resident Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute a Controlled Substance

PITTSBURGH, PA – David Curran was sentenced to 36 months in prison for conspiring to distribute a controlled substance in 2017 and 2018 while serving a federal prison sentence for a prior drug trafficking conviction, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

Curran, age 40, formerly of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan. Judge Ranjan ordered Curran to serve six years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Judge Ranjan also ordered that the 36-month prison sentence be served consecutively to Curran’s prior sentence.

Curran was convicted at the conclusion of a trial in June 2022. Curran was serving a federal prison sentence in 2017 and 2018 following a federal conviction for prior large-scale cocaine trafficking. Despite his prior conviction and incarceration, he continued to engage in drug trafficking while in federal prison. He conspired to distribute K2 paper saturated with powerful Schedule I synthetic cannabinoid controlled substances. The K2 paper endangered other inmates and corrections officers and burdened them with the effects of frequent lockdowns, overdoses, assaults, and other volatile behavior. While pending trial following his indictment, Curran engaged in repeated incidents of misconduct at local detention facilities, including attempting to bribe a corrections officer.

Assistant United States Attorneys Rebecca L. Silinski and Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General led the multi-agency investigation that also included the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Beaver County District Attorney’s Office, the Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations, the Pittsburgh Police Department, the United States Marshals Service, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Munhall Police Department, the Robinson Township Police Department, the McKees Rocks Police Department, the Stowe Township Police Department, the Etna Police Department, and the Erie County District Attorney’s Office.

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.