GBK Gang Member Sentenced to 16+ Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Crack Cocaine in Greenway Projects

PITTSBURGH – A Pittsburgh-area gang member has been sentenced in federal court to 16 years and eight months (200 months) in prison on his conviction of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Senior United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Brett Rodgers, 33, of Pittsburgh, PA.

According to information presented to the court, in 2017, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration initiated a wiretap investigation, primarily targeting the Greenway Boy Killas (GBK) street gang and drug trafficking in and around an area known as the Greenway Projects, located in the West End of the City of Pittsburgh. The wiretap investigation revealed that from in and around November 2017 through in and around June 2018, Brett Rodgers conspired to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, primarily in and around the Greenway Projects.

"Brett Rodgers is one of 28 members and associates of the violent GBK street gang charged last June with drug trafficking. Gangs like GBK terrorize their communities and force law-abiding citizens to live in fear," said U.S. Attorney Brady. "The people of the West End are safer today than they were last year, while Rodgers will have the next decade-and-a-half to reflect on his illegal conduct."

Assistant United States Attorneys Tonya Sulia Goodman and Yvonne M. Saadi prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration jointly with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania State Police, Robinson Township Police Department, Stowe Township Police Department, Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Wilkinsburg Borough Police Department, and the McKees Rocks Police Department, for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Rodgers.

The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.