Santino Bellucci, a former correctional officer from Dickson City, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 252 months in prison for his role in distributing controlled substances that resulted in death. The sentencing was handed down by Senior United States District Judge Robert D. Mariani on August 8, 2025.
According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Bellucci, age 28, conspired with others between January 2022 and February 2023 to distribute oxycodone and fentanyl in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties. On December 18, 2022, while employed as a correctional officer at a county facility, Bellucci sold pills containing a lethal dose of fentanyl to an individual who later died as a result.
“This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).”
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Dunmore Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny Roberts and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Olshefski prosecuted the case.
