SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jerry Defazio, age 40, of Archbald, Pennsylvania, a former contract employee with the Lackawanna County Prison, was sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment followed by two years’ supervised release by Senior U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo, for providing and attempting to provide prohibited objects, including illegal drugs, to inmates at the Lackawanna County Prison.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Defazio previously pleaded guilty to providing and attempting to provide contraband in prison. Defazio admitted that between November 2015 and April 2016, while working at the prison, he provided and attempted to provide Oxycontin pills (oxycodone), suboxone, and tobacco to inmates on several occasions and received payments ranging from $50 to $600 for smuggling the drugs and tobacco into the prison.

To date, three people have been charged in connection with the investigation. Deanna Tallo previously pleaded guilty to providing contraband in prison, and Thomas Coss pleaded guilty to obtaining and possessing contraband in prison. Both are awaiting sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.

           

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SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jerry Defazio, age 39, of Archbald, Pennsylvania, was charged in a criminal information with providing and attempting to provide contraband, including illegal drugs, to inmates at the Lackawanna County Prison.

 

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the information alleges that Defazio provided and attempted to provide oxycodone, suboxone, and tobacco to inmates at the prison between November 2015 and April 2016. The information states that at the time of the criminal conduct, Defazio was a prison contract employee.

 

The charge stems from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.

 

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

 

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

 

The maximum penalty under federal law is 20 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

 

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