Kresgeville man enters guilty plea federal drug trafficking charge

A third Monroe County man has pleaded guilty in United States District Court in Scranton,

before Senior United States District Judge Edwin M. Kosik, to the charge of conspiracy to

distribute methamphetamine, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said in a press release.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Fred Baumgartner, 34, of Kresgeville, admitted to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the Monroe County area in 2013 and 2014.

Baumgartner was one of seven individuals indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2014, after a several month investigation conducted jointly by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department and the Stroud Area Regional Police Department.

Previously, Scott Borushak, 51, and Emmanuel Tucker, 39, both of Stroudsburg, pleaded guilty and admitted to participating in the same methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. In addition, Jeannine Altemose, age 53, of Stroudsburg, previously entered a guilty plea and admitted to allowing methamphetamine to be stored and distributed from her home.

The charges against the remaining defendants are currently pending.

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara.

The maximum penalty under federal law is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $1,000,000 fine. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, the judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant, the press release said.