Wilkinsburg Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Charge as part of “11 Hunnit” Gang Investigation

PITTSBURGH - A former resident of Wilkinsburg, Allegheny County (PA), pleaded guilty in federal court to a violation of the federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Sanzio Williams, 32, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base (in the form commonly known as "crack") before United States District Judge Stephanie Haines. Williams was indicted and charged with drug trafficking following a months-long wiretap investigation targeting the narcotics trafficking activity of the "11 Hunnit" neighborhood street gang operating in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh and elsewhere.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Mr. Williams’s criminal conduct was detected through a wiretap investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation beginning in November 2019. At that time, the United States received authorization to intercept communications over several telephones utilized by suspected narcotics traffickers, and through those intercepted communications, along with other evidence, agents gathered evidence showing that Williams conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine.

Judge Haines scheduled sentencing for Monday, June 28, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. The Court remanded Mr. Williams to the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing. The law provides for a total sentence of imprisonment of not less than five nor more than forty years, a fine of up to $5,000,000, 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 Jerome A. Moschetta is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police (Bureau of Narcotics Investigations) led the multi-agency investigation in this case, which also included the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office and the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General. This Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force investigation is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.