Three Plead Guilty in Heroin Trafficking Ring

PITTSBURGH - Three Pittsburgh residents pleaded guilty in federal court to violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Corey Barlow, 22, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Leigh Fiumara, 43, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Jennifer Blumling, 32, of Pitcairn, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge William S. Stickman, IV.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Barlow, Fiumara, and Blumling conspired to distribute and possessed with intent to distribute heroin from September of 2018 through October of 2019. In 2018 the Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating a heroin trafficking organization operating throughout the greater Pittsburgh area of which Barlow, Fiumara, and Blumling were members. Beginning in February of 2019 and continuing through September of 2019, the FBI initiated a Title III wiretap investigation into the organization. Barlow, Fiumara, and Blumling were intercepted communicating with their codefendants about acquiring quantities of heroin, prices of heroin, and the purity of the heroin. Through extensive physical and electronic surveillance, Barlow, Fiumara, and Blumling were observed meeting with their co-conspirators to conduct heroin transactions.

Judge Stickman scheduled sentencing for Barlow, Fiumara, and Blumling on November 17, 2020 at 10:30 a.m.; November 18, 2020 at 10:30 a.m.; and November 19, 2020 at 10:30 a.m., respectively. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 20 years in prison, a fine not to exceed $1,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Mark V. Gurzo is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Allegheny County Police Department, the Stowe Township Police Department, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office, the North Versailles Police Department, the Allegheny County Port Authority Police Department, the Munhall Police Department, and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation leading to the prosecution of Barlow, Fiumara, and Blumling.

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.