Former Pittsburgh defense attorney gets 5 years in prison for marijuana distribution

A former defense attorney who became known for his satirical ads offering his ability to “think like a criminal” will spend five years in prison for his role in a large-scale marijuana ring.

Daniel Muessig, 40, of Squirrel Hill, was sentenced Tuesday by Senior U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab to the mandatory prison sentence allowed.

He pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Prosecutors said Muessig was identified as a large-scale marijuana supplier primarily targeting Braddock and operating out of a drug stash house on Covode Street. On May 24, 2019, investigators who had set up surveillance near the house said they saw people carrying large black trash bags with green stickers identifying the strain of marijuana from inside the house to vehicles parked outside.

That morning, Muessig was seen carrying a black backpack into the house, the government said. Later, he and another co-defendant carried two large boxes out of the house to a truck parked in the neighbor’s driveway.

The truck left, and police pulled it over, finding $400,000 in the boxes that the men had carried out. Inside the stash house, investigators said they recovered 404 pounds of marijuana and $5,000 in cash.

In their sentencing memo seeking the mandatory five-year sentence, prosecutors for the U.S. Attorney’s office cited Muessig’s 2014 YouTube video entitled “Thanks Dan!!!”

In it, actors portraying people committing crimes thank Muessig for his work defending them in court.

“Consequences, they sure suck don’t they?” Muessig said in the video. “America was built on freedom — not on a bunch of people with more money than you telling you what you can and can’t do with all their stupid laws. Laws are arbitrary.”

In 2014, when the video was made, it was viewed worldwide and both lauded and condemned. Muessig told the Tribune-Review at the time that it was intended to be ironic and funny but also convey a serious message.

In its sentencing memo, the government noted that Muessig is well-educated and had the means to support himself.

“But that was not enough,” the prosecution wrote. “Mr. Muessig wanted more money. As a result, he decided to take a shortcut, employing his ability to ‘think like a criminal’ and acting on his statement that ‘laws are arbitrary’ by establishing a well-orchestrated, illegal marijuana distribution operation in Pittsburgh.”

“While Mr. Muessig’s rap video may have been a ‘satire,’ his actions speak louder than words,” the prosecution added.

In his statement to the court on Tuesday, Muessig said he is “a markedly different person” today than he was at the time of the raid.

In the three years since then, he told the judge, he has worked to change his life.

“I understand that doesn’t abrogate what I did,” Muessig said.

Despite his quick guilty plea in the case, Muessig told the court, “I don’t agree with the law that I broke,” but he said he accepted responsibility for breaking it.

“I’ll take my punishment like a man,” Muessig said. “I just hope one day soon I can be reunited with my family and community.”

More than two dozen people submitted letters on his behalf, describing Muessig as kind, considerate, caring and generous.

“Despite his crime, Daniel is undoubtedly a person that contributes to society rather than takes from it,” wrote Rasmus Svoldgaard Nielsen of Denmark, who has known Muessig for 15 years.

Letters were submitted by friends from law school, relatives of former clients he helped in his law practice and loved ones.

“Dan has so much more to contribute to his community,” wrote law school classmate Sara E. Furlow. “He has taken full responsibility for his actions and has not once wavered. He has been open, honest and remorseful.”

Several writers noted that Muessig has dedicated himself over the past three years to becoming a better person, including delivering meals to people during the covid-19 pandemic.

“Dan has an active role within the Jewish community, which is an extension of his intrinsic desire to stand up for the rights of all historically persecuted people. This desire to help others took shape in his work as a criminal defense attorney, with a primary focus on helping the many individuals from traditional socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds ensnared in the legal system,” wrote An-Jey Andrews Su.

Muessig, who stopped practicing law in 2017 and worked in property management after that, was given permission to self-report to prison.

His attorney requested that he be permitted to serve his prison term in Morgantown, W.Va. Muessig asked the judge to recommend that he be allowed to work as an educator there to help other inmates.