SCRANTON-The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jason Randazzo, age 46, of Mountaintop, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on May 23, 2019, before Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley, to conspiracy to import into the United States from China alpha-pvp, commonly known as “bath salts."
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Randazzo admitted to participating in the conspiracy between March 2014 and January 2016. Randazzo was one of seven people indicted by a grand jury in August 2016. That indictment was the fourth indictment resulting from the lengthy investigation into “bath salts" importation and trafficking. In all, 18 people were charged as a result of the investigation, including a Texas-based couple who shipped “bath salts" to customers throughout the United States, including Pennsylvania.
Todd Morgans, of West Pittston, a major local supplier of “bath salts," was previously sentenced to 135 months’ imprisonment. David Folweiler, a Luzerne County sub-distributor, was sentenced to 90 months’ imprisonment. One of the Texas-based suppliers, Treiu Thuy Duong, received a 70-month prison sentence. Alan Folweiler received a 63-month sentence. Frank Brennan was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment.
The investigation has resulted in the seizure and forfeiture of several firearms, thousands of dollars in cash, hundreds of silver coins, real property and bank accounts valued at more than $750,000.
Judge Munley ordered a pre-sentence investigation to be completed, and scheduled sentencing for Aug. 26, 2019.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offenses is 20 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
