PITTSBURGH, Pa. — A resident of Columbus, Ohio, has been sentenced in federal court to 135 months of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, on his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced on Wednesday, March 13.
United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan imposed the sentence on Norberto Castillo-Lopez, 34, who was found guilty of the charge during a three-day jury trial in November 2023.
The evidence introduced during that trial established that Castillo-Lopez was the organizer and leader of an organization that was trafficking kilogram-quantities of cocaine from Columbus, Ohio, into the Western District of Pennsylvania. Beginning in December of 2019 and continuing through August of 2020, the Drug Enforcement Administration received authorization to conduct a Title III wiretap investigation into that organization, and Castillo-Lopez was intercepted agreeing to supply kilograms of cocaine to his co-conspirator, whose role was to redistribute Castillo-Lopez’s cocaine to lower-level distributors for resale in the cities of New Castle and Farrell. In September 2020, investigators executed a search warrant at Castillo-Lopez’s residence and recovered cocaine, bulk United States currency, and a kilogram wrapper.
In imposing the sentence, Judge Ranjan referenced the severity of the offense.
Assistant United States Attorneys Mark V. Gurzo and Katherine C. Jordan prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the Drug Enforcement Administration in Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Homeland Security Investigations in Pittsburgh and Orlando, Florida; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations; United States Postal Service in Columbus; Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; Lawrence County Drug Task Force–Special Investigations Unit; and New Castle Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Castillo-Lopez.
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.
