SCRANTON — A former police officer in Luzerne County recently pled guilty in federal court to trafficking fentanyl while armed with a firearm.
Todd Houghtlin, 52, of Duryea, was one of four people arrested in a fentanyl distribution ring linked to the Bloods street gang in July 2020, according to court records.
Houghtlin was arrested after delivering fentanyl to a customer in a parking lot in Plymouth. When he was stopped, he displayed a police badge claiming to be a police officer, court records say.
Agents allegedly found a brick of fentanyl (50 packets) on the passenger seat of his vehicle.
When Houghtlin was arrested, he was in possession of $146, a cell phone and a .380-caliber handgun loaded with four rounds, court records say.
Houghtlin was suspended by the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission several months prior to his arrest. When he was suspended, Houghtlin last worked as a police officer in Pittston Township.
U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam in a news release stated Houghtlin pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and illegal possession of a firearm.
Houghtlin pled guilty to the charges before U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani in Scranton. Houghtlin is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 1.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Luzerne County Drug Task Force and Kingston police conducted the investigation.