SCRANTON, PA — On October 27, 2023, United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani sentenced Miguel Eduardo Rosario, age 37, of Reading, Pennsylvania, to life imprisonment for the distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death and serious bodily injury, followed by a consecutive term of five years imprisonment for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Rosario was found guilty of multiple federal crimes on February 2, 2023, following a seven-day jury trial before Judge Mariani. The evidence showed that Rosario was a large-scale drug dealer operating out of Reading. While on state parole for a prior drug conviction, Rosario continued to sell fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone, and Xanax in the Berks and Schuylkill County areas between January 2017 and November 2019. Rosario was found guilty on all counts of the indictment, including counts relating to an individual who first overdosed from heroin and fentanyl distributed to him by Rosario, and then suffered death approximately six months later from heroin and fentanyl again distributed to him by Rosario. Rosario was also convicted of firearm charges related to his distribution of methamphetamine in exchange for firearms.
During the seven-day trial, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office presented the testimony from approximately 35 witnesses, including expert witness testimony from a forensic pathologist, multiple forensic toxicologists, a medical toxicologist, and a forensic cell phone examiner.
The life sentence imposed by Judge Mariani was mandated pursuant to federal law for defendants found guilty of distributing a controlled substance resulting in death, after having previously been convicted of a felony drug offense. Rosario’s criminal history involved multiple felony drug offenses, which also rendered him a career offender under federal law. However, Judge Mariani stated that even without the mandatory sentence, he would have sentenced Rosario to a term of life imprisonment. The five-year term of imprisonment was also mandated pursuant to federal law to run consecutive to the drug trafficking sentence.
Rosario was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,801.00 representing the funeral costs associated with the decedent.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Scranton, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Michelle Olshefski and Brian Gallagher prosecuted the case.
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