South Carolina Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Cocaine Trafficking Scheme

ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Columbia, South Carolina, has been sentenced in federal court to 60 months in jail on his conviction of violating federal drug laws, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.

United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Jose A. Romero, 35, of Columbia, South Carolina.

According to information presented to the court, Romero conspired with two co-defendants to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five hundred grams or more of cocaine. According to information presented in court, in March 2014, investigators seized packaging material from a kilogram of cocaine in Erie, Pennsylvania. On March 20, 2014, investigators seized two ounces of cocaine after it had been sold by one of Romero’s co-conspirators.

Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Acting U.S. Attorney Song commended the EAGLE task force, which is comprised of members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Bureau of Narcotics Investigation and the Erie Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Romero.