Christopher Richard Potter, 29, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 252 months (21 years) in federal prison on January 30, 2025, for conspiring to distribute fentanyl resulting in death. The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus.
According to court documents, Potter was involved in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and other controlled substances throughout Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties from January 2022 until his arrest in February 2023.
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The conspiracy’s source of fentanyl was located in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Potter and his co-conspirators would travel from Scranton to Hazleton multiple times per week to obtain fentanyl, returning to Scranton with thousands of bags for further distribution.
On December 19, 2022, a 26-year-old Dunmore man purchased fentanyl from a member of the conspiracy, overdosed, and died. His death was confirmed as a fentanyl overdose. Investigators linked the victim’s cell phone to Potter and two other individuals involved in the distribution.
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Potter was indicted by a grand jury in Scranton on April 4, 2023, along with co-conspirators Santino Bellucci, 29, and Kaylee Ann Widmer, 25. He pleaded guilty to the charges on September 23, 2024. Bellucci and Widmer have also pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced in March 2025.
The charges stem from a joint investigation involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Scranton Safe Streets Task Force and the Dunmore Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski prosecuted the case.
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