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 Emmanuel Roman-Figueroa, age 39, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on January 28, 2022, to 180 months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion for possessing 120 kilograms of 100% pure methamphetamine for distribution.  Roman-Figueroa had pleaded guilty to the offense on July 29, 2021.

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, on October 8, 2020, Roman-Figueroa met his co-defendants, Julio Romero-Mancebo and David Jusino Ramirez, both of New Jersey, at a truck stop off interstate 80 in Sugarloaf Township.  Romero-Mancebo and Jusino-Ramirez had transported the methamphetamine in the cab of a tractor trailer from California to the Hazleton area.  When they arrived at the truck stop the 120 kilograms of methamphetamine was placed into Roman-Figueroa’s vehicle.  The methamphetamine had a street value of over $2 million.  Immediately after the methamphetamine was placed in the vehicle, law enforcement officers arrested all three individuals.  It is noted that approximately three months earlier, on July 2, 2020, Roman-Figueroa was stopped by the Hazleton Police Department for a traffic violation and $371,500 in drug proceeds were seized from his vehicle. 

Co-defendant David Jusino Ramirez was convicted by jury on October 29, 2021, on drug trafficking charges and is awaiting sentencing.  Julio Romero-Mancebo pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges and is awaiting sentencing.The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Hazleton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts is prosecuting the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders works together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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