Former Crafton man who dealt drugs smuggled from Mexico gets 23 years in prison

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a former Crafton man to serve 23 years in prison for his role in running a complex heroin and cocaine distribution operation in Western Pennsylvania.

The sentencing concludes the long-running case against Andrew Beatty, 41, who was charged more than a decade ago.

Beatty, 41, pleaded guilty on Aug. 22 to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The plea agreement called for 23 years incarceration plus five years of supervised release.

Beatty will get credit for 11 years and two months, which he spent confined waiting for his case, which included four codefendants, to be resolved. During that time, he had five different defense attorneys.

As part of the plea, Beatty also agreed to forfeit $461,410 in cash, $160,000 in jewelry, three guns and eight vehicles.

Guero

He was initially charged in a criminal complaint in 2014 in which federal investigators laid out a complex scheme in which he would receive heroin and cocaine from a person named Guero, who worked for a Mexican drug ring.

Guero would have the drugs stashed inside a system of hidden compartments in various vehicles, and then have those shipped on a car carrier from the West Coast to the Pittsburgh area.

Beatty then returned hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to Guero the same way.

Eric Harpster, formerly a member of the Drug Enforcement Administration drug task force in Pittsburgh, testified on Wednesday. He was the case agent in Beatty’s investigation, which featured surveillance, wire taps on 11 phones used by Beatty, pole cameras, interviews and a variety of search warrants.

According to the criminal complaint, DEA agents asked the Ohio Highway Patrol to make a traffic stop on a car carrier they suspected Beatty was using. Officers found $130,000 in cash.

In January and February 2014, an undercover agent posing as a courier received $225,000 from Beatty and his associates.

Harpster testified Wednesday that Beatty was the leader of the organization in Pittsburgh — and that he would obtain the drugs from Guero and then divide them up for further distribution by people under him.

One of Beatty’s attorney, Troy Archie, argued that his client was not a leader of the organization, and that it was run by Guero. But Harpster disagreed.

“Guero was the supplier,” Harpster said. “Beatty is a separate distribution network in Pittsburgh.”

Black crack

There was a period of time in Pittsburgh when people were finding black crack cocaine on the streets, Harpster said. That’s because, he testified, one of the packages of cocaine stored in a vehicle tire burst on its way to the area. Beatty and his group had to scrape it out of the tire to repackage, Harpster said.

When the cocaine was later cooked to form crack, rubber from the tire caused it to turn black, he said.

During a search of multiple locations in 2014, agents recovered $400,000 in cash, as well as 40 bricks of heroin — with each brick containing 50 baggies.

Defense attorney Christina Burik told the judge that Beatty had only one previous criminal conviction, no juvenile court adjudications and no history of violence.

Beatty read a statement in court, telling U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon he apologized for his actions.

“I’m determined to make amends for the harm I’ve caused.”

During his incarceration, Beatty told the court that he has taken advantage of every program available to him, including completing his GED.

He noted that much of his pre-trial confinement was especially harsh as it came during the covid-19 pandemic. He would sometimes go days without water and weeks without showers.

Although he acknowledged his crimes, Beatty said he wanted to provide context to the court. He said he was born with a cleft palate and had nine surgeries by the age of 11. He was raised in Duquesne with limited opportunities.

There was a sense of hopelessness and an absence of role models, he continued.

“Survival often took precedence over aspiration.”