2 Delco Men Guilty Of Murder, Opioid Distribution: Feds

Two Delaware County men who were charged with conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and murder in connection with an opioid distribution ring have been convicted by a federal jury and face life sentences, according to federal prosecutors.

Anthony Vetri, 30, of Essington, and Michael Vandergrift, 31, of Chester, were found guilty of murder through the use of a firearm and conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, prosecutors said.

The conviction was handed down on Dec. 7.

Vetri and Vandergrift each face a possible life sentence. Sentencing is scheduled for Vetri on March 20, and for Vandergrift on March 21.

Vetri and Vandergrift were involved with a illegal opioid distribution ring out of Delaware County which was made possible by the assistance of a local pharmacist. The pharmacist, Mitesh Patel, 36, of Media, later pleaded guilty charges of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone; money laundering conspiracy, and tax evasion, according to officials.

The ring ran from 2008 to 2013 and involved several other conspirators, one being Gbolahan Olabode, who Vetri and Vandergrift murdered in 2012 to maximize their profits in the ring, prosecutors said.

During the conspiracy, Vetri got large amounts of oxycodone from Patel, who owned and operated three pharmacies in the greater Philadelphia area.

Vetri then supplied Vandergrift with oxycodone and both distributed the drugs throughout Delaware and Philadelphia counties.

Then in the fall of 2011, Vetri and Vandergrift began plotting to stop Olabode's involvement in the ring to up the amount of oxycodone could get from Patel, prosecutors said.

On Jan. 4, 2012, Vandergrift, Michael Mangold, and Allen Carter went to Olabode's home where they waited for him to arrive. When he showed up, Vandergrift and Mangold fired 27 shots at Olabode, hitting him 13 times in the head and body.

Mangold and Carter previously pleaded guilty to charges for their respective roles in the drug distribution, the murder of Olabode, and other offenses. They are awaiting sentencing, prosecutors said.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan B. Ortiz and David. E. Troyer.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Lansdowne Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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