Judge Sentences Pittsburgh Drug Felon to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Heroin

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – An Allegheny County resident has been sentenced in federal court to 12 years’ imprisonment, followed by eight years of supervised release, on his conviction of violating the federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Glaudis Lawrence, age 45, of Pittsburgh, PA.

According to information presented to the court, from in and around January 2016, and continuing until in and around July 2016, in the Western District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, Lawrence conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, a Schedule I controlled substance. Lawrence has a prior federal felony drug-trafficking conviction that also involved heroin.

Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Brady commended the federally administered Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) responsible for the successful prosecution of Lawrence. That task force was comprised of members drawn from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department, the Baldwin Borough Police Department, the Duquesne Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Munhall Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Scott Township Police Department, and the West Homestead Police Department, along with assistance from the Borough of McKees Rocks Police Department, the Borough of Ambridge Police Department, the Borough of Sewickley Police Department, the Crescent Township Police Department, the City of Aliquippa Police Department, the Borough of New Brighton Police Department, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. 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.