COVINGTON, Ky. - A Florence, Kentucky, man Richard Gearhart, 39, was sentenced today to 50 months in federal prison, by U.S. District Judge David Bunning, for conspiracy to distribute MDMA (ecstasy).
Gearhart previously admitted to conspiring with others to distribute more than 600 grams of MDMA, between August 2014 and July 2019. According to his plea agreement, numerous packages of MDMA were sent from various overseas locations to Gearhart, through the mail at various addresses. Officials from U.S. Homeland Security and the Postal Inspection Service seized seven of these packages. Agents also seized approximately 100 grams of MDMA, two firearms, and items of drug paraphernalia from his residence, on July 17, 2019. Gearhart was a convicted felon at the time of the commission of this offense.
Gearhart was indicted in November 2019 and pled guilty in March 2020. Under federal law, Gearhart must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence and will be under of the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for four years, following his release.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentuck; James Giehl, Acting Inspector in Charge, Pittsburgh Division, Cincinnati Field Office, United States Postal Inspection Service; Jerry Templet, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations; and Christopher Conners, Director of the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Bracke.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
