New Brighton Resident Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine Trafficking Charge

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a drug trafficking charge, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

Anthony Besiso, 62, pleaded guilty before United States Senior District Judge Nora Barry Fischer to possession with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.

Between June 2021 and January 2022, the Beaver County Anti-Drug Task Force conducted an investigation into a drug trafficking organization in New Brighton. In connection with Besiso’s guilty plea, the Court was advised that numerous controlled purchase and surveillance operations demonstrated that Besiso would obtain methamphetamine from a source of supply in Ohio and then sell it to distributors in the Western District of Pennsylvania. On January 28, 2022, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant upon Besiso’s New Brighton residence, which resulted in the seizure of three digital scales and about 103 net grams of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.

Judge Fischer scheduled sentencing for July 19, 2024. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 20 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $1 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Beaver County Anti-Drug Task Force and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Besiso.