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Cocaine operation uncovered in region

By Josh Krysak 5 min read

Every time an inmate at a state prison makes an outgoing phone call, an automated voice prompt informs both the caller and receiver that the call will be recorded and monitored by law enforcement officials. However, those voice prompts apparently did not deter three area men and an alleged co-conspirator from operating a massive cocaine ring coordinated by telephone conversations from the State Correctional Institution at Fayette in Luzerne Township that ultimately led to the ring’s demise.

State Attorney General Tom Corbett announced Friday that following a six-month investigation dubbed “Operation Pen-Pals,” four drug “kingpins” from the Fayette County area, including an inmate at SCI-Fayette, have been charged in the trafficking scheme.

Charges were filed against Donta Tyrone Thomas, 29, of 45 Steel St., Republic; William Earley, 59, of 145 Spring St., Coal Center; Carson Jarome Thomas, 22, of 6 Wall St., Republic; and Arthur Lamont Gregory, 35, of 106 Edgewood Drive,

Donta and Carson Thomas, along with Gregory, each were charged with three counts of possession with intent to deliver drugs, three counts of criminal conspiracy, two counts of participating in a corrupt organization and one count of criminal use of a communication’s facility.

Earley was charged with four counts of possession with intent to deliver drugs, two counts of drug possession, four counts of criminal conspiracy, two counts of participating in a corrupt organization and one count of criminal use of a communication’s facility.

Prison officials told state police that they had recorded suspicious conversations made by inmate Donta Thomas beginning in January.

Authorities believed the calls were being placed to coordinate an outside drug operation.

After presenting the evidence to a statewide investigating grand jury, charges were filed against the men Friday.

“This is a perfect example of how cooperation between law enforcement agencies can quickly dismantle a criminal enterprise,” Corbett said Friday at a press conference at the state police barracks in Uniontown.

From January through July, prison officials intercepted a series of calls between Donta Thomas and his uncle, William Earley, and Donta Thomas and his cousin, Carson Thomas, in which the men discussed drug-trafficking activities.

The men arranged a meeting between Carson Thomas and Earley’s drug sources in Philadelphia.

“During these calls, Donta tutored Carson on methods of buying and selling drugs, including how to negotiate prices, how to travel to Philadelphia without attracting the attention of law enforcement and how to accumulate money to bankroll future drug purchases,” Corbett said.

Donta Thomas also directed his cousin in the distribution of drug profits and trips to pick up cocaine, Corbett said.

According to the grand jury’s findings, the recorded phone conversations were monitored by police and led to the eventual arrest of Carson Thomas and Gregory on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in July as police were on a heightened alert for drug runners between Fayette County and Philadelphia following the taped calls.

“It was apparent from listening to the conversations and from the trooper’s summaries of conversations that Carson Thomas had made several trips to the Philadelphia area to pick up cocaine which was sold in the Fayette County area to generate profits which were then used to purchase additional cocaine,” the jury wrote.

State police at Somerset took Carson Thomas and Gregory into custody after discovering a cache of cocaine following a traffic stop for tailgating at 1:50 a.m. July 11. According to the criminal complaint filed by Cpl. Dennis Ulery of the Troop B vice unit, Sgt. Anthony DeLuca stopped Thomas and Gregory in Allegheny County for a routine traffic violation. During the stop, a search warrant was obtained and the men’s vehicle was subsequently searched around 5:55 a.m., Ulery said.

In the trunk of the car, police found a gym bag with two plastic bags inside containing about 11 pounds of cocaine with a street value of over $500,000, officials said Friday.

Additionally, police said one of the bags contained 129 stamp packets of heroin.

According to the state Department of Labor and Industry, Carson Thomas earned a total of about $560 over the last seven years.

During questioning following the seizure, police said Gregory told investigators he was paid $1,000 to make the drive from Philadelphia and added that the trip was the second he made for Thomas and Earley.

After the Turnpike bust, police used the conversations to track the drug smuggling back to Earley.

Police searched Earley’s home on July 19 and seized a quarter-ounce of crack-cocaine, Corbett said.

All four men were charged in Somerset County before Magisterial District Judge Susan Mankamyer.

Two of the four men have prior records, according to a search of the Web site for Pennsylvania’s Unified Judicial System.

Donta Thomas has the most significant record, with arrests dating back to 1996, when he was 19. He is currently serving five to 10 years in prison for possession and possession with intent to delivery drugs and criminal conspiracy from 2004 charges. Other cases include charges of drunken driving, possession of drug paraphernalia and reckless endangerment. The Web site indicates he has prior charges in Fayette, Greene, Allegheny and Washington county courts.

In 1988, Earley was charged with possession and possession with intent to deliver drugs in Lycoming County. Although the docket indicates he was convicted, it does not reveal how much time, if any, he served.

SCI-Fayette has 53 acres inside the perimeter’s fence, and 2,000 beds in the 692,000-square-foot building.

Staff writer Jennifer Harr contributed to this report.

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