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Jail guard resigned after indictment on drug charge

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Among a group of men and women indicted by a federal grand jury last month on charges of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms of cocaine was a corrections officer who worked at the Washington County jail.

Andrew Molinaro, 42, of Canonsburg, who began working for Washington County in September 2010, resigned from his position, Commission Chairman Diana Irey Vaughan, who is also in charge of the county prison board, confirmed Monday.

Molinaro’s salary was $48,000. He resigned Nov. 24.

According to the indictment, the conspiracy operated between April and Oct. 27. Five kilograms equals slightly more than 11 pounds.

The Department of Justice labeled the conspiracy the Marcus Brown drug-trafficking organization after a 33-year-old Washington resident who was also indicted.

Federal prosecutors claim the organization trafficked in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Seventeen defendants were arrested as a part of the FBI Operation Skyfall, which included seven months of federally authorized wiretaps on 10 phones. Brown and Steve Law IV, 29, of Washington, would allegedly obtain the drug in New Jersey and distribute it in Southwestern Pennsylvania, mainly in Washington, Fayette and Allegheny counties.

Four other people were also indicted, but they were already in custody.

Federal court records show Molinaro pleaded not guilty on Nov. 25. He is free on $25,000 unsecured bond.

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