WILLIAMSPORT—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a one-count information was filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania charging Mark Marcoccia of Towanda, Pennsylvania with conspiracy to distribute bath salts.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the information alleges that Marcoccia conspired with Justin Johnson to distribute quantities of the controlled substance analogue pyrrolidinopentiophenone (α-pvp), also known as bath salts. The information alleges that Marcoccia and Johnson distributed bath salts and kept and concealed proceeds from the sales of that substance to purchase additional quantities of bath salts for distribution and sale and to purchase real estate and a boat.

Pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement filed with the information, Marcoccia, age 51, has agreed to plead guilty to the criminal charge and also agreed to the criminal forfeiture of the cash sum of $100,000 reflecting the amount of his interest in property derived from the distribution of bath salts. Johnson previously entered a guilty plea to the charge of conspiracy to distribute bath salts on February 10, 2015 and is awaiting sentencing before U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann.

The federal investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Wyoming County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney George J. Rocktashel has been assigned to the prosecution of this matter.

Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the sentencing judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the sentencing judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.