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 United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion sentenced Mariluz Arias De Gonzalez (“Arias”), age 49, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, to 12 months and 1 day of imprisonment and a 3-year term of supervised release, for distribution of methamphetamine.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, on two occasions on February 10, 2020, Arias distributed over 50 grams of methamphetamine in the Hazleton area. Arias, a Dominican national, obtained the methamphetamine from a known Hazleton-based drug trafficker, who had previously fled to the Dominican Republic to avoid prosecution.
The matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffery St John 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 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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