Luzerne County Man Sentenced On Federal Drug Trafficking Charges
Friday, September 12, 2025, 10:00 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
SCRANTON, PA.- Last Thursday, a 32-year-old Pittstown, Pennsylvania, man, and a four-time convicted drug dealer, was sentenced to nearly nine years in federal prison after being convicted of distributing quantities of deadly fentanyl within the Middle District of Pennsylvania, specifically the Luzerne County area.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus, on Thursday, September 4, 2025, Anthony Joseph Nieves, 32, of Pittstown, Pennsylvania, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph F. Saporito, Jr., to 105 months in federal prison, to be followed by a term of supervised release after pleading guilty to a federal drug trafficking crime.
Nieves previously appeared in Federal Court in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and pleaded guilty to one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute 5 Grams or More of a Controlled Substance.
According To Charging Documents
According to the charging documents and statements made in the District Court, in October 2024, members of the Pittstown Police Department launched an investigation into Nieves’ fentanyl distribution activities. During a swift-moving investigation, Investigators utilized a confidential informant to purchase fentanyl from Nieves on multiple occasions. Additionally,. Investigators learned that Nieves had been previously convicted on four separate occasions of drug trafficking crimes.
On November 1, 2025, following the controlled buys, Investigators obtained and executed a court-authorized search warrant at Nieves’ Pittstown, Pennsylvania, residence.
During the search, Investigators located and seized quantities of fentanyl, items of drug paraphernalia consistent with drug trafficking activities, body armor, and $1,274 in U.S. currency in denominations consistent with illicit narcotics sales.
Acting U.S. Attorney Gurganus commended the investigative work of the Pittstown Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
