Date: April 3, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Johnstown, PA – On April 2, a resident of Arnold, PA, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today. Milton Paschal pleaded guilty to counts one and eight of the superseding indictment before United States Senior District Judge Kim R. Gibson. In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, from in and around August 2018 to March 2023, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Paschal conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine. Additionally, in and around December 2023, Paschal distributed and possessed with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine. Paschal was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining cocaine that he distributed to others. Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for August 1, 2024. 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 Paschal. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (CI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, 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. CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.
