PITTSBURGH, PA — A resident of Pittsburgh has been sentenced in federal court to eight years’ imprisonment, followed by a six-year term of supervised release on his convictions of violating federal narcotics and firearms laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge William S. Stickman imposed the sentence on Willie Miller, age 30, formerly of the Mount Oliver section.
According to information presented to the court, the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, initiated an investigation primarily targeting the Darccide/Smash 44, or DS44, neighborhood gang, and drug-trafficking activity in and around the South Side area of Pittsburgh. As part of this large-scale narcotics and firearms investigation, from approximately February 2019 through June 2019, the United States received authorization to intercept communications on 9 telephones, including the defendant’s phone. Intercepted communications revealed that the defendant was supplied by co-defendant Martel Yates and that he distributed brick and bundle quantities to co-defendant Brian Salaj.
Additionally, on June 20, 2019, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at the defendant’s residence. In a bedroom identified as the defendant’s, law enforcement recovered packaged heroin and fentanyl, 27 mobile phones, an ink stamper, an owe sheet, and $16,076.00. In a hidden floorboard of that same bedroom, law enforcement recovered a Colt .380 caliber firearm. The defendant is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition due to prior felony convictions.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Stickman stated, “Heroin has destroyed countless lives and snuffed out countless futures.”
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna and Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the multi-agency investigation of this case, which also included the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Allegheny County Adult Probation, Allegheny County Police Department, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Narcotics, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, and the Wilkinsburg Police Department. Other assisting agencies include the Green Tree Police Department, New York City Police Department, Mount Oliver Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, Yonkers Police Department, United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
This prosecution 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.