Mexican national pleads guilty to 'Kingpin' role in drug ring linked to New Kensington

A Mexican national pleaded guilty this week in Pittsburgh federal court to charges related to a domestic and international narcotics and money laundering conspiracy.

Marcos Monarrez-Mendoza, 55, who was illegally residing in Phoenix, Ariz., is one of 35 people charged in an indictment unsealed in January 2024 in a conspiracy involving substantial quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine, acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti said.

Monarrez-Mendoza was charged with operating a continuing criminal enterprise, in violation of a federal “Kingpin” law.

According to information provided to the court, Monarrez-Mendoza provided drugs to a network of subordinates who redistributed them throughout the country, including into Western Pennsylvania. He was intercepted through a federal wiretap between September and November 2022 obtaining hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, millions of fentanyl pills and kilograms of cocaine from a Mexican national drug supplier.

According to prosecutors, Monarrez- Mendoza provided more than $100,000 in proceeds from the drug sales to couriers who smuggled the money into Mexico to promote the drug trafficking operation.

The government alleged Monarrez- Mendoza and his son and co-defendant, Marco Monarrez Jr., paid a Mexican drug supplier hundreds of thousands of dollars, as well as guns and vehicles.

U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan scheduled sentencing for Monarrez- Mendoza for Dec. 5.

The law provides for a potential sentence of 20 years to life in prison, a fine of up to $2 million, or both.

New Ken connection

James Pinkston, 35, of New Kensington, who served as the local connection to the Phoenix-based drug trafficking organization, is among 19 others named in the indictment who have pleaded guilty in federal court.

In May, Pinkston was sentenced to 18 years and four months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.

Pinkston — the only defendant from Western Pennsylvania — pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering and possession with intent to distribute.

On July 7, 2022, agents intercepted a parcel being delivered to a home in New Kensington and recovered thousands of fentanyl pills weighing more than 1.7 pounds.

Agents seized nearly five additional pounds of pills inside a suitcase of a person traveling with Pinkston at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on Aug. 2, 2022, court filings said.

Homeland Security and FBI agents conducted an investigation that led to the charges. Over nearly five years, investigators relied on more than 50 controlled drug buys and wiretaps on dozens of phones to dismantle the criminal organization.