Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday addresses state legislators in Hazleton

Speaking at Hazleton City Hall on Monday, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said violent crime is generally down in major cities and across the board, but there is an uptick in drug offenses.

His office’s narcotics bureau said it logged the removal of 56.5 million doses of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl from the streets.

“That amount of fentanyl is staggering. It’s enough to kill four times the population of Pennsylvania,” Sunday said.

Sunday was among several panelists asked to discuss crime trends with the Senate Majority Policy Committee and House Republican Policy Committee.

Another focus of Sunday’s office is organized retail theft, which involves smash-and-grabs and other coordinated stealing from businesses, usually initiated by criminal enterprises, he said.

His office’s organized retail theft unit has launched more than 100 investigations in 52 counties, showing this type of crime is “not just a big-city issue,” he said.

The office’s human trafficking section has had a 125% increase in active cases since it was formed two years ago, the AG said.

Tracking data is difficult because many victims don’t report that they were trafficked, he said.

Sunday also touched on senior scams, saying Pennsylvania is at risk because it has one of the highest numbers of senior citizens in the country.

Scamming of seniors probably accounts for the majority of gross domestic product in some small countries, he said. He has aging parents in their early 80s and sees an increase in the sophistication of scams that is “really scary.”

The AG’s Office recently created an elder exploitation unit that is already “overwhelmed with cases,” he said.

Sunday urged legislators to seriously consider addressing concerns in the Older Adult Protective Services Act, including a proposal to stop fraud before it happens by empowering financial institutions to put a hold on transactions they believe could be fraudulent.

Intervention by financial institutions is critical because the stolen money is rarely returned to victims, he said.

His office also has sections specializing in investigating money laundering, child predators, environmental crimes, financial crimes, gun violence, organized crime, public corruption, and technology and privacy protection, Sunday said.

Its Medicaid fraud unit ranked first in the nation last year for convictions, he noted.

A cold case section was recently formed to focus on unsolved homicides, he said.

Sunday also shared his views on the ongoing discussions around sentencing for felony murder after the state Supreme Court ruled mandatory life sentences for this crime are unconstitutional. He said Senate Bill 1400 — legislation introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, and passed twice by the Senate — would provide an appropriate sentencing structure for felony murder involving serious offenses, such as robbery, rape, kidnapping, and arson.

Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce, another panelist, spoke after Sunday and reiterated his frustration over the situation involving felony murder, commonly known as second-degree murder.

“I often wake up in the morning, and I wonder what planet we live on,” he said in reference to the ramifications of the court ruling.

Regarding elderly scams, Sanguedolce said he has issued public warnings. He personally knows of people who cleared out their bank accounts and mentioned a call from someone fearful of a scammer’s report that a relative was in jail and needed money. At the DA’s urging, that person called the relative and realized the claim was untrue.

Human trafficking remains a challenge due to victims’ unwillingness to cooperate with law enforcement, Sanguedolce said. Victims sometimes don’t know they are victims, he said.

The DA spoke against the allowance of recreational marijuana in this state. He recalled past heroin cases he processed, stating all defendants he encountered told him they started with marijuana.

“I hope that we resist the urge to get this influx of tax money that I know will be the savior of Pennsylvania, just like gambling was. All of our property taxes have since been abolished, so we’re all in very good shape because of that,” he said, with sarcasm, in reference to promises made before casino gambling was legalized.

Sanguedolce attributed a county decline in overdose deaths largely to “closure of our borders” that made it more difficult for dealers to access fentanyl.

However, fentanyl is being replaced by methamphetamine — a highly addictive synthetic stimulant, he said.

The DA thanked the legislators at Monday’s hearing for supporting law enforcement and health care workers and facilities.

“Without these resources, we basically don’t exist. We have complete anarchy,” Sanguedolce said, adding that he is always available to discuss support for a “common sense regular society that moves forward in a safe and healthy manner.”

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