SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jonathan Orlando Fontanez, age 37, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was sentenced yesterday October 26, 2022, to 40 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, for conspiracy and possessing with intent to distribute in excess of 5 kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Fontanez was part of a drug trafficking organization distributing large quantities of cocaine, and fentanyl tablets disguised as 30 milligram oxycodone pills. On September 22, 2021, a federal search warrant executed on Fontanez’s residence, as well as search warrants served on other locations related to the drug trafficking organization, resulted in the seizure of nearly $100,000 in cash, approximately 1,000 fentanyl pills and more than 10 kilograms of cocaine.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd K. Hinkley prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.
This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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