Police: New Castle heroin operation so big, supplier made house calls
Staff report
NEW CASTLE, PA
A New Castle, Pa., drug ring bought so much heroin, $30,000 to $60,000 per transaction, that a Youngstown supplier delivered the drug to New Castle, authorities say.
Pennsylvania authorities announced the breakup of the major drug trafficking ring that got its heroin supplies from Youngstown, charging 10 New Castle residents in connection with $3 million to $6 million worth of heroin distributed in Lawrence County over the past year.
New Castle police said a confidential informant told them that, on numerous occasions, the alleged ringleader, Michael Schmidt Sr., 34, went to Youngstown, where he would buy up to $50,000 worth of heroin at a time.
Another confidential informant told police Schmidt Sr. would go to Youngstown to buy $30,000 to $60,000 worth of heroin at a time from a resident of Youngstown’s East Side.
The ringleader’s brother, Anthony, reportedly told this confidential informant that the Schmidts had been buying so much heroin that the supplier also brought the drug to the Schmidt’s New Castle residence, according to a police affidavit supporting the criminal charges.
Lawrence County District Attorney Josh Lamancusa said in a media briefing that the heroin allegedly distributed by the so-called “Schmidt heroin organization” came from Youngstown.
The investigation began in June 2013.
Read more about the operation and the charges in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.