Pike County District Attorney Raymond J. Tonkin announced Paul J. Wassel, Jr., age 53 of Taylor, PA, was sentenced to 15 years to 30 years in a state correctional facility and a fine of $1,800. 

Wassel was convicted  by a jury of the crimes of Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance, Criminal Conspiracy and related misdemeanor charges following a trial in March in the Pike County Court of Common Pleas.

Following an investigation conducted by the Pike County District Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigation Division, the vice unit of the Pennsylvania State Police and the Wayne County District Attorney’s Office, Wassel was intercepted on June 25, 2021 on his return trip from Patterson, NJ.

 A search warrant was obtained and a search of Wassel’s rental car revealed 2,300 bags of Fentanyl in the engine compartment of the car and $600 in cash.