A former resident of Crafton, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 23 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for his involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon handed down the sentence to Andrew Beatty, aged 41, on June 11, 2025.
Court information revealed that Beatty led a large-scale drug trafficking operation in the Pittsburgh area. This organization acquired heroin and cocaine from a Mexican drug trafficking group and distributed them locally. Beatty coordinated with suppliers in Mexico who arranged for drugs to be concealed within vehicles transported to Pittsburgh via commercial carriers. After distribution, payments were sent back using similar methods.
On December 17, 2013, DEA agents facilitated a traffic stop by the Ohio Highway Patrol on a car-carrier truck destined for California. A search uncovered $130,000 inside one of the cars shipped by Beatty. Subsequently, Beatty employed a Colombian broker to hire a courier for transporting payments. Unbeknownst to him, this courier was an undercover DEA agent who received $225,000 from Beatty on two occasions.
Leading up to March 5, 2014, intercepted communications disclosed that cocaine had been shipped to Pittsburgh for retrieval by Beatty. Agents located the vehicle before it could be accessed by him and found approximately four kilograms of cocaine and one kilogram of heroin hidden inside.
Search warrants executed on March 19 resulted in seizing about $400,000 in cash; $267,000 was discovered in Beatty’s storage locker. The following day agents searched one of his vehicles and found approximately 3.5 kilograms of heroin along with firearms and cell phones belonging to him.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted the case.
Acting United States Attorney Rivetti praised various law enforcement agencies from Pittsburgh as well as New York and California for their roles in investigating and prosecuting the case successfully. Agencies involved included the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), alongside local police departments such as Pittsburgh Bureau of Police among others.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation aimed at dismantling high-level criminal networks threatening U.S security through coordinated efforts among multiple law enforcement entities.
