Forest Hills electrician convicted in coke ring dies before sentence begins

A Forest Hills electrician sentenced last month to federal prison for his role in a cocaine conspiracy led by a Plum drug dealer died last week of natural causes.

Brian Horvath, 48, died Feb. 20.

He was to have reported to federal marshals by March 16 to begin a 57month sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab on Jan. 16.

Horvath had been among 12 people indicted in 2018 for their roles in a coke ring run by Thomas Poole, 53, of Plum, who is serving 12 years in prison.

The ring was dismantled by a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration wiretap investigation that began in 2016 and focused on Poole, who operated in Plum and the Strip District.

Federal agents raided a Strip apartment in 2017 and recovered 6 kilos of cocaine and $121,000 in cash.

Horvath was among the conspirators who dealt cocaine. He received it from two co-defendants and then redistributed it to others in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, according to federal prosecutors.

Prior to his sentencing, his lawyer, James Paulick, said Horvath was a hardworking electrician who ran his own business, Premier Wire Solutions, for 20 years. But Mr. Paulick and several friends who wrote letters on Horvath’s behalf also said he had long struggled with narcotics addiction since his introduction to drugs at age 15 and had been in and out of rehab over the years.

Mr. Paulick had argued for probation for Horvath so he could keep running his business, which employed five other electricians.

“His involvement in this conspiracy is truly an abnormality in an otherwise healthy and productive life,” Mr. Paulick said in sentencing papers.

Prosecutors requested a sentence within the federal guideline range of 57 to 71 months, noting that Horvath was responsible for distributing between 5 and 15 kilos of cocaine. When he pleaded guilty, he admitted that he usually was supplied with 4.5 ounces on a weekly basis to sell to others from January 2016 to November 2017.

The judge chose the low end of the guideline range and allowed Horvath to selfreport.

He was to have served his sentence at the federal prison in Morgantown, W.Va.