A more than yearlong investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office and the Westmoreland County Drug Task Force has disrupted a large-scale fentanyl trafficking organization in the Alle-Kiski Valley.

In court paperwork filed Friday, agents said they made controlled buys of fentanyl between January and March 2022 in Arnold, New Kensington and Tarentum.

It involved thousands of packets that tested positive for fentanyl and heroin and tens of thousands of dollars in cash.

Six people are named. Charges are pending against Ronald Ciciarelli, 59, of New Kensington; Lawrence Richardsen, 36, of Waynesburg; and Malachi D. Pryor, 21, of Greensburg.

Police say Pryor and Richardsen shared an apartment in Tarentum in which drugs, cash and paraphernalia was found.

Ciciarelli was arraigned Friday before New Kensington District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. and released on an unsecured $50,000 bond. Richardsen is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday, according to court records.

Charges had not been filed as of Friday against three others named in Ciciarelli’s criminal complaint. They include Jade “Remy” Greenlee, who investigators said was operating the organization when the investigation started in January 2022. The others identified are Alexis Markey and Keith Headley.

When contacted, Katherine Foley, a spokeswoman with the state Attorney General’s Office, said they were unable to comment but said more information on the investigation might be released next week.

According to Ciciarelli’s criminal complaint, investigators used an informant to make controlled buys of fentanyl from members of Greenlee’s group. The informant said they would call Greenlee to order fentanyl and then meet with a “runner” to complete the buy.

Police said all of the evidence bought and seized through the investigation was sent to the state police crime lab for weight and analysis. Tests results received in June were positive for heroin and fentanyl.

According to the complaint, five buys were made from January to March 2022:

In each instance, and related ones, authorities say fentanyl was sold in packets that were stamped “CASH APP” or “PASSION” in red ink.

• Jan. 24: Greenlee told the informant where to go in Tarentum. The informant met with Richardsen, from whom the informant bought fentanyl.

• Jan. 27: Greenlee sent the informant to New Kensington. When a black Subaru arrived, agents saw Pryor, who is Greenlee’s son, get out and meet with the informant and the drug buy took place.

• Feb. 3: Greenlee set up a deal in New Kensington. The informant got into a silver Dodge Journey and completed the fentanyl buy with Richardsen.

• Feb. 28: The informant arranged a drug buy with Richardsen in Tarentum. The informant got into a car registered to Greenlee and driven by Richardsen, with whom the drug buy took place.

• March 1: Greenlee set up deal in Tarentum. The informant again bought fentanyl from Richardsen, who was driving Greenlee’s car.

Agents and officers searched Pryor and Richardsen’s Tarentum apartment on March 2. Pryor, Richardsen and Markey were located at that time and arrested, according to court papers.

The search found just over $700, 60 packets of fentanyl stamped “CASH APP” on Markey, five other fentanyl stamp bags, marijuana, unspecified pills and drug paraphernalia, including “brick” wrappers.

According to the complaint, Markey agreed to speak with investigators. He told them Richardsen and Pryor kept their fentanyl at a relative of his’ house in the 600 block of East Sixth Avenue in Tarentum. Police said they got consent to search the home and found a bag containing 51 bricks and 20 additional packets, for a total of 2,570 packets, of suspected fentanyl stamped “CASH APP” in red ink.

Police said Richardsen agreed to speak with agents. He told investigators he was being supplied with fentanyl by Greenlee, who he called “Remy.”

According to the complaint, Greenlee had a cellphone that forwards calls from drug buyers to Richardsen. Richardsen said Greenlee has his own customer base and accepts calls and arranges deals with them. Greenlee then calls Richardsen or Pryor to tell them where to meet the person and the quantity they want to buy.

According to the complaint, Richardsen said when he needed to pick up more drugs, he met with Greenlee every seven to 10 days, taking $15,000 to $20,000 in cash to get 200 to 250 “bricks” of fentanyl, for a monthly total of $60,000 to $80,000. A brick typically contains 50 small packets of the drug.

Agents made another controlled buy from Greenlee in New Kensington on March 7. The informant met a car in which Ciciarelli was a passenger and made a fentanyl deal like the others.

Agents said they saw Ciciarelli leave his home in Arnold on March 10 and make a hand-to-hand transaction with Headley on Kenneth Avenue. The complaint says Headley was found carrying 60 packets of fentanyl.

Ciciarelli agreed to speak with agents after he was arrested, his complaint states. He said Greenlee, who he called “Mike,” would arrange to have 15 bricks of fentanyl delivered to his house along with a cellphone. Greenlee would call that phone and tell Ciciarelli where to meet customers.

Police said Ciciarelli told them he would turn over about 13 bricks of fentanyl, $500 and the cellphone that were at his home. Police said they seized 542 packets of fentanyl marked “PASSION,” $932 and the cellphone Greenlee provided.

Police said Headley also agreed to speak with investigators. According to the complaint, Headley said he had known Greenlee, who he also called “Mike,” for about a year through buying fentanyl from him.

According to the complaint, Headley said that over time Greenlee started to use runners to deliver fentanyl instead of doing it himself. Headley identified Richardsen and Pryor as two runners Greenlee used and he had met to buy fentanyl from in New Kensington and Tarentum.

News of this investigation comes just after more than 960 bricks of suspected fentanyl intended to land in McKeesport were seized Tuesday at the Greyhound bus station in Downtown Pittsburgh.

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