Cocaine kingpin busted in Monroeville gets life for East Coast drug trafficking

A drug lord operating in Pittsburgh who initially turned down a proposed plea deal calling for him to serve 15 years in federal prison for cocaine trafficking instead will serve life.

Racoco Williams, 43, was sentenced Tuesday at the federal courthouse Downtown. He was found guilty at trial before U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti in September of six counts, including money laundering and serving as the leader of a large-scale drug trafficking organization.

Federal prosecutors said that the group sold more than 330 pounds of cocaine between 2012 and 2018. Williams got the cocaine he sold near the Southwest border, and his base of operations was in Phoenix.

He then arranged for the drugs to be moved across the country to the east coast to cities including Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Charlotte and New York.

Investigators said Williams regularly used young women — including a 16-year-old girl — as couriers. They traveled by bus or domestic flights carrying checked luggage filled with drugs.

The women would then transport cash back to Phoenix in secret compartments in the luggage.

To ensure their compliance, the U.S. Attorney’s office said, Williams threatened the women, including telling one he would kill her and her family if she cooperated with police.

Over the course of the conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney’s office said that nearly $900,000 in cash was seized from Williams and his associates.

Williams was arrested in August 2017 at an Extended Stay America hotel in Monroeville after a drug task force operating there smelled marijuana coming from his room. Authorities seized $192,000 from the room along with more than 35 pounds of cocaine.

Even during incarceration while awaiting trial, Williams continued to arrange for cocaine shipments from Phoenix to Pittsburgh, the government said.

In March 2018, for instance, a BMW SUV linked to Williams was seized by Arizona law enforcement. Inside, they found five kilograms of cocaine, $400,000 in cash and $200,000 worth of jewelry.

According to federal court filings, Williams offered multiple times to plead guilty in exchange for a prison term of 10 to 12 years.

Although the government rejected those proposals, Williams’ lawyer said in May 2023, the prosecution offered a plea deal in exchange for 15 years incarceration.

Williams rejected the proposal at first. But a week before trial, his attorney told the prosecution he’d take it.

The U.S. Attorney’s office refused, and the case went to trial.

In Williams’ sentencing memo, his attorney said that a life prison term in the case is not warranted.

“It is an excessive sanction here,” the defense wrote. “The government’s belief that a 15-year sentence was appropriate less than three months before trial reflects that.”

But under federal law, Williams’ conviction for being the kingpin of a large drug trafficking organization calls for a mandatory life prison term.