Source: Office of United States Attorneys
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court on February 6, 2025, to charges of violating federal narcotics and money laundering laws, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
James Pinkston, 35, pleaded guilty to Counts One, Three, and Four of the Second Superseding Indictment before United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, from in and around August 2021 to in and around June 2023, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Pinkston conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine. Pinkston was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of the drugs that he distributed to others. Similarly, in and around March 2023, Pinkston possessed with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing cocaine. Further, from in and around April 2022 to in and around March 2023, Pinkston conspired to commit money laundering by using a payments app to receive and initiate payments for drug transactions.
Pinkston was one of 35 individuals indicted by a federal grand jury in Johnstown in December 2023 on narcotics, conspiracy, and money laundering charges for their participation in a violent transnational drug and money laundering operation. The Second Superseding Indictment alleges that the operation imported from Mexico millions of fentanyl pills, kilograms of fentanyl powder, hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, and dozens of kilograms of cocaine that then were distributed and sold throughout the United States (read the news release regarding the Second Superseding Indictment here). Pinkston served as the western Pennsylvania connection to the Phoenix, Arizona, drug trafficking organization responsible for importing the drugs from Mexico.
Judge Ranjan scheduled sentencing for May 28, 2025. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $10 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard Jr. is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Pinkston. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and other local law enforcement agencies.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.