DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Western District of Pennsylvania

For Immediate Release

Monday, November 4, 2019
Scott W. Brady
, United States Attorney

McKees Rocks Felon Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Possessing a Firearm

PITTSBURGH – Dennis Cercone was sentenced to 57 months in prison for possessing a firearm after prior felony convictions, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Cercone, age 33, of McKees Rocks, was sentenced by United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan. Cercone was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. The sentence was a result of Cercone’s arrest on October 13, 2018, by the McKees Rocks Police Department after he possessed and discharged a pistol inside a house in McKees Rocks. Cercone had prior state and federal gun and cocaine distribution felony convictions.

Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.

The McKees Rocks Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives conducted the investigation leading to the conviction and sentence in this case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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Philadelphia Field Division