(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced yesterday that a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh has indicted 13 individuals from Pennsylvania, California, New York, Florida, and New Mexico on charges of violating federal drug and firearm laws. A two-year investigation went into the drug trafficking organization and the seven-count indictment followed it. Rivetti confirms that all of the suspects are facing sentences in prison, fines of $250,000, or both provided by the law. The suspects include forty-eight-year-old Aaron Mitchell of Pittsburgh and three men from New Kensington, Pennsylvania. According to a release in Pittsburgh yesterday from the Department of Justice yesterday, here is more information about this indictment:

The Indictment named the following individuals as defendants:
Name Age Residence
Feng Ruan 35 Brooklyn, NY
Maoxuan Xia 30 Flushing, NY
Jhon Canizales-Soto 32 Miami, FL
Marcos Francisco-Tomas 34 Riverside, CA
Andres Flores-Cedeno 39 New Kensington, PA
Eric Vega 38 Riverside, CA
Manuel Rivera 43 Coachella, CA
Fernando Gonzalez-Gonzalez 24 Los Angeles, CA
Julio Flores 23 Los Angeles, CA
Michael Johnson 63 Albuquerque, NM
Aaron Mitchell 48 Pittsburgh, PA
Raymond Simmons 54 New Kensington, PA
Toriano Wilson 46 New Kensington, PA

According to the Indictment, from January 2023 to April 2024, Francisco-Tomas, Flores-Cedeno, Vega, Rivera, Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Flores, Johnson, Mitchell, Simmons, and Wilson conspired to distribute and possessed with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Additionally, on August 30, 2023, Rivera possessed with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. On February 17, 2024, both Francisco-Tomas and Flores-Cedeno possessed with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. The Indictment further alleges that, on January 17, 2023, Ruan engaged in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, and that, from in and around January 2023 through in and around April 2024,
Xia, Canizales-Soto, Francisco-Tomas, Flores-Cedeno, Vega, Rivera, Gonzalez-Gonzalez, and Flores participated in interstate travel or transmission in aid of racketeering. Finally, the Indictment charges that, on October 5, 2023, Mitchell possessed a firearm and ammunition as a previously convicted felon. Federal law prohibits possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon.
For Francisco-Tomas, Flores-Cedeno, Vega, Rivera, Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Flores, Johnson, Mitchell, Simmons, and Wilson, 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. For Ruan and Xia, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. For Canizales-Soto, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. In relation to the firearms charge for Mitchell, the law provides for a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the
seriousness of the offense(s) and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Katherine C. Jordan is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the
full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. The HSTF for the Western District of Pennsylvania comprises agents and officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service, with
the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.