Indictments unsealed for drug death, fentanyl seizure
May 2—A federal judge in Scranton unsealed indictments against three people accused of selling fentanyl and causing someone's death late last year.
The indictments made public Tuesday against Kaylee Ann Widmer, Christopher Richard Potter and Santino Bellucci do not include many details. However, the specifics they do contain mirror two cases brought in Lackawanna County Court after a massive fentanyl bust in Hyde Park and the December death of 26-year-old Corey Rinaldi of Dunmore.
State-level charges against Bellucci, who was accused of selling Rinaldi a lethal dose Dec. 18, were withdrawn last week, court records show.
Pending charges against Potter and Widmer, who were arrested in a separate case after investigators said they discovered more than 5,000 doses of fentanyl at their home Feb. 28, will be withdrawn at their next court appearance to make way for the federal prosecution, District Attorney Mark Powell said.
A federal grand jury indicted the three April 4 on counts of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances resulting in death and distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death for causing the death of an unnamed person Dec. 18, the same day police accused Bellucci of selling to Rinaldi.
Widmer and Potter face additional counts of distribution of a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and for maintaining a drug-involved premises from September 2022 through Feb. 28. Widmer also was indicted for possessing a 9mm handgun Feb. 28 in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
In county court, the three were charged in two separate cases — one tied to Rinaldi's death Dec. 18 and another tied to the Feb. 28 raid on Widmer and Potter's home at 150 S. Rebecca Ave. The federal indictment ties the three together as co-conspirators.
The three defendants each pleaded not guilty.
Attempts to reach attorneys for Bellucci and Widmer were unsuccessful Tuesday. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania declined to comment.
William J. Watt, an attorney who represents Potter, said they have yet to see the government's evidence.
"We are still very early in the process," Watt said.
In a report filed Friday with U.S. District Judge Robert D. Mariani, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Olshefski wrote the government planned to provide the defense the first "full wave" of discovery this week.
A trial is tentatively set for June 12. Bellucci, Widmer and Potter remain detained at the Lackawanna County Prison.
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.
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