PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced in federal court to 180 months in prison, to be followed by eight years of supervised release, on his convictions of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and crack, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan imposed the sentence on Kareem Middlebrook, 43, on December 18, 2025.

According to information presented to the Court, from in and around December 2021 to in and around March 2023, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Middlebrook conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture of cocaine, a quantity of a mixture of fentanyl, and a quantity of a mixture of crack. Additionally, in and around May 2022, Middlebrook possessed with the intent to distribute a quantity of fentanyl. Middlebrook was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of the drugs that he distributed to others. Further, in and around May 2022, Middlebrook-who had been previously convicted of a felony-unlawfully possessed a firearm. Federal law prohibits possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon.

Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard Jr. prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

First Assistant United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Middlebrook. Additional agencies participating in the investigation included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, Indiana Borough Police Department, and other local law enforcement agencies.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. The HSTF for the Western District of Pennsylvania comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.