In U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh yesterday, a Las Vegas, Nevada man pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and to conspiracy to launder proceeds of marijuana trafficking
30-year-old Ryan Schanck targeted western Pennsylvania college campuses, including IUP, for his drug dealing operation, which ran from 2012 through last year. The lead prosecutor, Assistant United States Attorney Tonya Sulia Goodman, said Schanck and his dealers conspired to distribute between 700 and 1,000 kilograms of pot, and to launder approximately $258,404 in proceeds from the sales.
The multi-year investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation unit, Pittsburgh police and Indiana Borough police. It was funded by the federal organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program.
Judge David Cercone scheduled Schanck’s sentencing for October 4th. He is facing five to forty years in prison and fines as high as $5 million.
