Allegheny Twp. man pleads no contest to fentanyl possession

An Allegheny Township man faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading no contest Monday to fentanyl possession.

George Zachary Senko, 40, was charged in May 2023 following a traffic stop on South Leechburg Hill Road after police found four bricks of fentanyl in his vehicle.

As jury selection for his trial was set to begin, Senko pleaded no contest to charges of one felony count and three misdemeanor counts of drug possession. Senko claimed in court that he did not intend to sell the fentanyl and that he possessed the drugs for his personal use.

Defense attorney Tim Dawson said Senko rejected a plea deal that originally called for him to receive a 5-to-10-year prison sentence. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said she will sentence Senko, who remains free on bail, in about three months after a background investigation conducted by the county’s probation department is completed.

“The evidence is such that he faces conviction and this allows him to make an argument (for a reduced prison term) at sentencing,” Dawson said.

As part of the deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss felony robbery counts in a separate case in which police alleged Senko stole a gold chain from a man five days before his drug-possession arrest.

Police said Senko ripped a chain valued at $1,500, according to court records, from the man’s neck after inviting him to take ride and smoke marijuana.

In that case, Senko pleaded no contest to lesser counts of theft and receiving stolen property.

According to court records, Senko has a history of criminal convictions dating back more than two decades, including convictions on two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with an Armstrong County crash in 2004 that resulted in the death of two motorcyclists.

Senko pleaded guilty for his role in the fatal crash and served two 1-to-3-year prison sentences, according to court records.