PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Brian David Cortes, a/k/a “Bambi", 36, of Allentown, PA, was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison, and five years of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl for the distribution of the dangerous narcotic fentanyl.
In February 2022, the defendant pleaded guilty to distributing 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing heroin and fentanyl. The charges stemmed from a 2021 investigation into drug-trafficking activities occurring at the defendant’s barbershop on Tilghman Street and his garage on North 4th Street, both in Allentown. Law enforcement conducted multiple controlled buys of fentanyl from the defendant and other individuals during the investigation and in June 2021 executed numerous search warrants at residences and the two businesses, leading to the seizure of over 1,000 grams of fentanyl and $100,000.
“Fentanyl is one of the deadliest narcotics flooding the streets of our country, and this defendant made sure there was a steady supply of it right here in eastern Pennsylvania," said U.S. Attorney Williams. “Cortes operated two successful, legitimate businesses, but that wasn’t enough. So he let his greed corrupt those enterprises, turning them into drug trafficking locations. Our Office is doing everything it can to uncover and disrupt these dangerous operations."
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.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration - Allentown Residence Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charles J. Volkert, Jr.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
