$90K worth of raw fentanyl seized, man arrested after bust in Ligonier Borough

About $90,000 worth of raw fentanyl in powder form was confiscated from a Cambria County man Tuesday after an arrest in Ligonier Borough, according to authorities.

Cortez M. Haselrig, 25, who lives near Johnstown, is being held at Westmoreland County Prison on charges of drug possession, criminal use of a communication facility and resisting arrest. His bail was set at $500,000.

The arrest is connected to a four-month drug trafficking investigation spanning the two counties, authorities said.

Haselrig is the son of former Pittsburgh Steelers guard Carlton Haselrig, according to police sources. Carlton Haselrig died in 2020.

The major arrest was part of a joint investigation among state police, Westmoreland County detectives, the Department of Homeland Security and Ligonier Valley and Penn Township police, said District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli and Trooper Steve Limani. The county was designated two years ago by federal authorities as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, meaning more resources and investigative help has been directed locally.

Westmoreland County Detective Tony Marcocci labeled Haselrig an “upper-level dealer” who was getting raw fentanyl in a powder form and cutting it to make individual doses to sell on the streets. Investigators typically find such quantities of drugs coming from Allegheny County, but not in this case, he said.

“This is coming in the opposite direction,” Marcocci said.

A confidential informant tipped off investigators Tuesday that Haselrig would be traveling to the Ligonier area with enough fentanyl to fill 2,500 stamp bags, according to court papers. A deal with the informant was set up in a parking lot off Route 30 in Ligonier Borough while authorities waited along the highway.

As Haselrig pulled in, police turned on their lights and sirens, and he unsuccessfully tried to flee, troopers said. During the arrest, an officer sustained a “substantial injury” to the hand, police wrote in a criminal complaint. Haselrig was found in possession of 50 grams of raw fentanyl powder and $1,630, Limani said.

Police searched his home just outside of Johnstown and found 110 grams of suspected raw fentanyl powder, $3,242 and 131 prescription narcotics, according to authorities. No charges had been filed in connection with those items as of Wednesday afternoon. Ziccarelli credited the work of officers involved with the investigation.

“This is of paramount importance to my office and the safety and security of our communities,” she said.

Haselrig did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A July 8 preliminary hearing is set.

Fentanyl is an opioid deadlier than heroin and has been the top killer in fatal Westmoreland County drug overdoses since 2016, according to coroner statistics. In 2021, it contributed to 137 of the 168 deaths.

The drug can be made illicitly in labs and is more lucrative for dealers because fentanyl is much more powerful than heroin and, as a result, less is needed. It can be mixed with other drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, and some dealers are pressing fentanyl into pills designed to look like legitimate prescription medication.