Pottstown man jailed for role in drug ring
NORRISTOWN >> A Pottstown man is headed to jail on drug-related charges after he was arrested last year when detectives dismantled a corrupt organization that distributed illegal drugs in Montgomery, Berks, Lehigh and Lancaster counties.
Matthew J. McVey, 39, of the first block of Beech Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 9-to-23-months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to engage in possession with intent to deliver controlled substances in connection with incidents that occurred between November 2015 and June 2018.
Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered McVey to complete four years’ probation following parole, meaning McVey will be under court supervision for about six years.
Other charges of corruption organizations, criminal use of a communication facility and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities were dismissed against McVey as part of the plea agreement.
McVey was one of more than a dozen people rounded up last June during an investigation dubbed “Operation Poison Control.”
McVey’s guilty plea came one week after authorities announced that three other men allegedly involved in the drug ring conspiracy saw their cases transferred to federal court where penalties are more severe.
David Tyrone Cooper, 44, of the 1000 block of Saylor Street, Muhlenberg Township, Berks County, the leader of the alleged corrupt organization; Christopher Saunders, 26, of the 400 block of King Street, Pottstown, identified in court papers as Cooper’s stepson and “a member of the organization’s upper echelon” who allegedly was responsible for overseeing the distribution of cocaine and fentanyl in Pottstown; and Edwin Andino, 36, of Allentown, were indicted by a federal grand jury on various drug trafficking charges.
With his guilty plea, McVey admitted that he conspired with Cooper, Saunders, Andino and others during the illegal drug activity.
When the alleged drug ring associates were arrested last June, District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said investigators dismantled a significant corrupt organization that was a major source of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Specifically, Cooper and Andino were indicted in federal court on charges of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, cocaine and cocaine base, possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, fentanyl and cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Saunders, who also listed addresses in the 700 block of Walnut Street and the 500 block of High Street in Pottstown, was charged with participating in the alleged narcotics-trafficking conspiracy.
The transfer of the cases to federal court is significant because if the men are convicted in federal court they face more significant penalties than they would if convicted in county court.
Several others previously pleaded guilty in county court to drug-related charges and were sentenced or are awaiting sentencing in connection with incidents that occurred between November 2015 and June 2018.
Last month, Miguel A. “Migz” Figueroa Jr., 34, of the 700 block of Lance Place, Reading, was sentenced in county court to 18-to-40-years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of corrupt organizations, possession with intent to deliver fentanyl and cocaine, conspiracy and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity.
At the time of his arrest, Figueroa was preparing to deliver 200 grams of fentanyl to an alleged co-conspirator, prosecutors alleged. Figueroa was identified in court papers as Cooper’s fentanyl, heroin and cocaine supplier.
Investigators with the district attorney’s Violent Crime Unit said the organization’s criminal activities were reported to police by nine confidential informants and three anonymous “concerned citizens.” The investigation also utilized electronic surveillance including wiretaps on the suspects’ phones, visual surveillance, controlled drug buys and seizures of evidence with search warrants.
The arrests were the culmination of a joint investigation by authorities from Montgomery, Berks and Lehigh counties, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General and Pennsylvania State Police.