Drug Dealer Tearfully Apologizes During Federal Sentencing In Fatal Overdose Case

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PITTSBURGH (AP) - A Pittsburgh drug dealer tearfully apologized to a nearly empty federal court Wednesday as he was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison for causing a fatal overdose.

Fifty-eight-year-old Richard Toland was also ordered to pay $750 in restitution to the family of the victim to pay for his funeral. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Toland is one of the first drug dealers in Pittsburgh to be charged federally.

In 2015 when Toland was indicted, then-U.S. Attorney David Hickton said his office would be aggressively prosecuting dealers who cause fatal overdoses. Toland has six prior convictions in state court for drug dealing.

Toland says he plans to get a college degree while in prison in order to become a drug counselor.

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