PITTSBURGH - A former Pittsburgh resident pleaded guilty in federal court to charges involving bribery and illegal firearm possession, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Monroe Blanks, III, 29, currently incarcerated on a parole violation, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose to all of the charges he faced at two different cases.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Blanks had previous convictions that include three felony drug trafficking convictions in 2006 and another in 2012. On March 3, 2015, Pittsburgh Police stopped Blanks’ vehicle and found that he possessed a loaded 9mm caliber Glock handgun. Federal law prohibits individuals with any previous conviction for a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Over the next four months, Blanks contacted numerous persons in an effort to bribe witnesses. Federal investigators learned of the bribery scheme and arrested Blanks after determining that he had paid an individual thousands of dollars to come to Court and lie.
By signing a written plea agreement and pleading guilty to all of his crimes, Blanks has agreed to serve 188 months (over 15 ½ years) in federal prison and he will be supervised by the United States Probation Office for another five years following his release from prison. Judge Ambrose scheduled the formal imposition of sentence for April 6, 2016 at 10 a.m.
Blanks’ co-defendants have each been charged and are currently awaiting their Feb. 29, 2016 trial date before Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Anthony Mariani.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for conducting the investigation that led to the prosecution of Monroe Blanks, III.
Assistant United States Attorney Ross E. Lenhardt, a federal prosecutor with the Violent Crime Section of the Office of the United States Attorney, represented the federal government.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
