AG Shapiro: 5 charged in drug ring that brought $400K of fentanyl from Philly to Butler

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Natasha Lindstrom, The Tribune-Review, Greensburg
·3 min read
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May 1—Four Butler women and a Philadelphia man face charges brought by a statewide grand jury for their alleged roles in a drug ring that investigators say trafficked an estimated $400,000 worth of fentanyl from Philadelphia to Butler County.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said the drug operation involved at least three dozen trips across the state to transport a kilo of fentanyl, or more than two pounds — enough for an estimated 50,000 individual doses.

The five defendants include: Desirae Feitl, 34; Jodi Shirey, 50; Brandi Zediker, 24; and Crystal Pakutz, 28; who all live in the city of Butler; and Quinzal "Slim" Powell of Philadelphia, court records show. Shapiro announced the indictments against the five suspects on Friday.

Each was charged Wednesday and arrested on felony counts of delivery and possession of a controlled substance, conspiracy, criminal use of a communication facility and being a member of a corrupt organization for acquiring, moving and selling drugs between January through October of last year, records show.

Among places the defendants met regularly to do drug deals: the parking lots at Clearview Mall, McDonald's at the Greater Butler Mart complex and the Save-A-Lot at Pullman Square, according to the indictment.

According to Shapiro's office, "investigators believe that the drugs trafficked in these communities by the defendants may have led to some overdose deaths in Butler County."

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid painkiller that can be 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. As little as 2 or 3 nanograms of fentanyl per milliliter of blood can be deadly.

According to the indictments, Powell — who goes by the nickname "Slim" — orchestrated the sale of heroin and fentanyl between Philadelphia and Butler counties; Feitl and Pakutz sold at least 41,000 doses worth of the drug mixture; and Shirey and Zediker "acted as distributors."

The investigation that led to the charges involved electronic and in-person surveillance, wiretapping and tracing cellphones, GPS tracking, records show. Investigators listened in on prison calls, obtained search warrants to review thousands of text messages, used informants and conducted targeted traffic stops.

A search warrant served Oct. 1 on a hotel room rented by Pakutz turned up a bag of fentanyl, a scale and packaging materials for drug sales, the indictments said.

Feitl was caught with seven bundles, or 70 bags, of fentanyl on Oct. 15. A search of her residence led to the confiscation of more than 1,100 stamp bags, small plastic packets used for selling the drug to addicts, and about $10,000 cash, the indictments said.

Then investigators searched a storage unit rented by Feitl at Hillvue Storage in Butler and found a safe containing about $234,000 in cash, most of which was $100 bills.

That same day, Powell was stopped during a traffic stop, and officials found 1,150 plastic packets filled with fentanyl during a search of his vehicle, according to investigators.

The investigation was a joint operation by narcotics investigators with the state Attorney General's Office and the Butler County District Attorney's Drug Task Force. Local law enforcement assisted, including police from the city of Butler, Butler Township and Penn Township and officers with the Butler County Sheriff's Department.

"When multiple law enforcement agencies collaborate on an investigation, the community is the beneficiary," Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger said in a statement.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Kara Cotter is prosecuting the cases against the five defendants.

Natasha Lindstrom is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Natasha at 412-380-8514, nlindstrom@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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