Jailed Cocaine Dealer Sentenced to 4 More Years for Conspiring to Distribute Controlled Substances while in Prison

PITTSBURGH, PA – Robert Korbe was sentenced to 48 months in prison for conspiring to distribute Schedule I synthetic cannabinoid controlled substances between 2017 and 2019, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Korbe, age 51, was sentenced by United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan. Judge Ranjan directed that the prison sentence be served consecutively to the prison sentence Korbe was serving at the time of the crime. Judge Ranjan also directed that Korbe serve six years of supervised release following his prison sentence and forfeit $2,819.85 from his prison account that contained some of the proceeds of the crime.

Korbe was incarcerated at the federal prison at Loretto, Pennsylvania, when he was conspiring to distribute Schedule I synthetic cannabinoid controlled substances which have caused severe illness and deaths throughout the United States in recent years. Korbe was incarcerated as a result of several prior convictions in theWestern District of Pennsylvania for cocaine trafficking, possessing a firearm after a prior felony conviction, and wire fraud. Korbe has six prior drug trafficking convictions in six prior federal and state prosecutions as well as a prior conviction for aggravated assault in another prior state prosecution.

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

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, 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 case is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program, known as OCDETF. OCDETF was established in 1982 to support comprehensive investigations and prosecutions of major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. It is the keystone of the drug reduction strategy of the Department of Justice. By combining the resources and expertise of federal agencies and their state and local law enforcement partners, OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the most serious drug trafficking, money laundering, and transnational criminal organizations.