PITTSBURGH - On April 24, 2017, Lasean Gardenhire was convicted of conspiring to launder heroin trafficking proceeds, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.
Gardenhire, age 40, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pled guilty on the first day of trial in the courtroom of United States District Court Judge Nora Barry Fischer. In support of the guilty plea, the prosecution informed Judge Fischer that Gardenhire used thousands of dollars of the proceeds she obtained from the interstate heroin distribution business of her husband, Lance Gardenhire, to purchase and renovate certain residential properties in the Pittsburgh area and to purchase multiple luxury vehicles. She also converted the heroin proceeds into what appeared to be legitimate wealth that she could deposit into bank accounts with federally insured financial institutions.
Judge Fischer scheduled sentencing for Lasean Gardenhire to occur on Aug. 30, 2017, at 11:30 a.m.
Assistant United States Attorneys Rachael L. Dizard and Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.
U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police led the multi-agency investigation of this case that also included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the United States Marshals Service, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Scott Township Police Department, the Munhall Police Department, the Baldwin Police Department, and the Pleasant Hills Police Department. The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). 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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
