Erie Man Sentenced For Leading Large-Scale Drug Trafficking Organization
Monday, December 16, 2024, 11:00 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
JOHNSTOWN, PA.- A 44-year-old Erie, Pennsylvania, man will be spending over the next twenty years in federal prison for being the leader of a large-scale illicit drug trafficking organization that distributed kilogram quantities of methamphetamine throughout Erie and surrounding communities in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday, December 11, 2024, John Christopher Bisbee, 44, of Erie, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn J. Horan to 252 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release for his previously entered guilty pleas.
Bisbee Pleads Guilty To Multiple Counts
Bisbee had previously appeared in the U.S. District Court and pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine; Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering; Unlawful Possession of a Firearm; and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
According to U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan, charging documents filed, and statements made in court during Bisbee’s plea allocution. Beginning in July 2019 and lasting through June 2020, Bisbee participated in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Bisbee Identified As The Leader
In part, Bisbee was the leader of the drug trafficking organization that operated in Erie and the surrounding communities, including across the New York State border, and obtained kilograms of quantities of methamphetamine that he distributed to others.
Through the source of his supply in Atlanta, Bisbee imported dozens of kilograms of methamphetamine at a time, would then repackage it for final distribution, providing it to a network of underlings for street sales distribution and collection of the proceeds from those sales.
During Search Warrant Investigators Find Firearms
During the execution of a court-authorized search warrant at Bisbee’s Erie residence, investigators found and seized two handguns and over 100 rounds of ammunition. Bisbee admitted that he knew he was prohibited from owning and possessing a firearm or ammunition due to his prior felony convictions for drug trafficking. During his plea allocution, Bisbee admitted that he possessed the firearms in furtherance of the new drug trafficking offenses.
In addition to the methamphetamine conspiracy, Bisbee admitted to conspiring to commit money laundering by using the cash proceeds from the sale of meth to purchase real estate in Erie, Pennsylvania area. As part of his plea agreement, Bisbee agreed to forfeit over $305,000 in cash and jewelry seized during the investigation at the time of his arrest.
Bisbee’s sentencing follows that of his co-conspirator, Alexis Brolin, Jr., in September 2024, who was sentenced to 204 months in federal prison for running the drug trafficking organization’s distribution in Clearfield and surrounding areas.
“John Bisbee was a major methamphetamine trafficker in the Erie area whose network stretched across northwestern and central Pennsylvania and into New York,” said U.S. Attorney Olshan. “Drugs and firearms are too often a deadly combination in our communities, and today’s 21-year sentence, along with Alexis Brolin’s 17-year sentence, reflect our collective resolve at all levels of law enforcement to pursue the most dangerous offenders in this district with the full weight of the federal law.”
“Bisbee received a severe sentence in federal prison for leading a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking organization,” said Thomas Hodnett, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Philadelphia Field Division. “This investigation exemplifies how collaboration with our law enforcement partners safeguards our communities against criminal organizations.”
