SCRANTON-The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that Catherine Abbey, age 34, formerly of Saw Creek, Pennsylvania, who now resides in Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley to serve one year in prison for her role in a heroin and cocaine trafficking conspiracy based in Monroe County.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Abbey previously admitted to participating in the drug conspiracy headed by Eddie Pace, which operated in Monroe County between 2012 and 2015. Abbey admitted to obtaining between 80 and 100 grams of heroin (which is equivalent to between 3,000 and 4,000 retail bags of heroin) in Paterson, New Jersey, on several occasions and transporting it to Pace in Monroe County. Pace and others distributed the drugs to customers in the Monroe County area.
Abbey was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2015. All seven members charged in the indictment have entered guilty pleas. Daryl Trent was sentenced to 90 months in prison. Anton Woodson received a 63-month prison sentence. Shawnette Isaac was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Eddie Pace, the leader of the drug ring, and two other co-conspirators are awaiting sentencing.
Judge Munley ordered Abbey to serve three years on supervised release following her prison sentence.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, and local police from Monroe County. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted 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. Attorney General Jeff Sessions 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.
This case was also brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
