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SCRANTON — A Wilkes-Barre man was sentenced in federal court on Friday to 235 months’ imprisonment on drug trafficking charges.
Michael Rinaldi, 44, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani following an August 2020 conviction on charges of conspiracy to distribute narcotics.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Rinaldi distributed narcotics between November 2017 and August 2018, including a specific delivery of cocaine to a government informant.
Rinaldi was found to be responsible for the distribution of six kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of crack cocaine, 15 grams of heroin and 48 pounds of marijuana.
The conviction was Rinaldi’s ninth criminal conviction as an adult. He was most recently released from a 19-year term of imprisonment in October of 2017 stemming from a 1998 arrest for drug trafficking and firearms violations.
In addition to the 235 months’ imprisonment, Rinaldi will also serve six years of supervised release after his time in prison.
Two additional co-defendants, Duwayne Brown and Andrew Henry, have pleaded guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy charges and are currently awaiting sentencing.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean A. Camoni.
— Kevin Carroll