SCRANTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle), published as received.

SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on March 14, 2019, United States District Court Judge James M. Munley sentenced Willis DeLaRosa-Baez, age 34, to 80 months’ imprisonment and a four-year term of supervised release, for conspiring to distribute heroin and crystal methamphetamine.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, DeLaRosa-Baez, his co-defendant, Daniel Silvestre-Ubri, and other individuals conspired to distribute heroin and crystal methamphetamine in Pennsylvania between February 4, 2016 and April 6, 2016.  DeLaRosa-Baez admitted to supplying other drug dealers with narcotics, and to trafficking in excess of 2.6 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and 3 kilograms of heroin, the latter of which is the equivalent of 120,000 potentially fatal doses of heroin.

DeLaRosa-Baez, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, entered the United States illegally and will be deported upon the conclusion of his sentence.  He was indicted on May 17, 2016, and has remained in custody since his arrest on June 22, 2016.  His co-defendant, Silvestre-Ubri, also has remained in custody since his arrest on March 22, 2018, pleaded guilty, and is awaiting sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General and the Pennsylvania State Police.  Assistant United States Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo prosecuted the case.

This case is 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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

This case also 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.

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