The last of three men arrested in February 2008 as part of a large-scale drug investigation in the Mon Valley pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to drug and money laundering charges.
Tavius Smith, 30, of 679 Reed Ave., Monessen, pleaded guilty to three counts before Senior U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond.
Smith, along with Jamie Luiz Lightfoot and John Edward Crews, both of Donora, were arrested Feb. 19, 2008, after federal search warrants were served at locations in Donora, Charleroi, Monongahela and Monessen. The investigation was conducted by members of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task, which includes state police, Charleroi, Donora and Monessen police, the FBI and Internal Revenue Service.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles A. Eberle, Smith, a convicted felon, possessed a Ruger 9 mm pistol, a Taurus .41 magnum revolver, and a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun.
Smith was previously convicted on May 9, 2001, of robbery of a motor vehicle in Westmoreland County, and on Sept. 7, 2001, of firearms not to be carried without a license in Washington County.
Federal law prohibits anyone who has been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year to possess a firearm.
From 2005 to the time of his arrest, Smith conspired with others to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine, said Eberle.
And, on Jan. 5, 2008, Smith "cashed in" more than $15,000 in drug trafficking profits to be used in legal gambling activities at Wheeling (W.Va.) Island casino.
Diamond scheduled sentencing for 10 a.m. Sept. 8. Smith faces a possible sentence of life in prison and a fine of $4.5 million.
Lightfoot pleaded guilty to similar charges in November. He was sentenced in March to 14 years in prison followed by 6 years of supervised release.
Crews pleaded guilty to charges stemming from this case, along with two separate cases, in November. He was sentenced in March to 14 years in prison followed by 8 years of supervised release.