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SCRANTON — A Luzerne County woman woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to participating in a heroin trafficking conspiracy, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
According to a press release, Brandy Carey Malinowsky, 40, admitted to conspiring with others to distribute heroin to customers in Luzerne County before Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley. The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, and a potential maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Malinowsky admitted to being involved in the distribution of more than 110 grams of heroin as part of the conspiracy in 2014, the equivalent of more than 3,300 retail bags.
Malinowsky admitted to conspiring with others to distribute heroin to customers in the Luzerne County area, according to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith.
Prosecutors said Malinowsky was indicted by a federal grand jury in Scranton in February 2016 as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Kingston and Plymouth Police Departments and the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office.
The indictment charged six additional people with participating in a larger conspiracy headed-up by Desmond Mercer. Mercer, who was charged in a previous indictment, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Mercer’s co-defendants Shaliek Stroman, Wilkes-Barre, and Shaquan Murphy, New Jersey, were both sentenced to more than 12 years in prison, officials said.
Judge Munley ordered a presentence investigation to be completed, and scheduled sentencing for November 29.
Officials said the case, brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin, is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.