Luzerne County Man Pleads Guilty To Fentanyl Trafficking

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Dario George, age 32, of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on March 16, 2023, before U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion, to the charge of possession with intent to distribute more than forty grams of fentanyl.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, George admitted to distributing between 280 grams and 400 grams of fentanyl in the Luzerne County area in 2021 and 2022. The charge stems from an investigation in which investigators made four purchases of fentanyl from George and then, on May 19, 2022, obtained a search warrant for George’s residence in Nanticoke.  A search of that residence resulted in the seizure of approximately 30,000 individual bags of fentanyl and additional amounts of heroin and cocaine, $8098 in U.S. currency, and drug packaging materials.

The investigation was conducted by the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara 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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.        

Under federal law, George faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum sentence of forty years in prison, a term of supervised release and a fine. 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.

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