Piner’s request for hearing rejected

Claimed NAACP report shed new light on drug conviction

Kenneth J. Piner, an Altoona man serving a lengthy prison sentence for his part in a cocaine ring that operated in the Altoona area more than a decade ago, has lost his attempt to have a new hearing in his case based on a recent report issued by the Blair County branch of the NAACP that was critical of the close relationship between law enforcement and Operation Our Town.

Piner requested federal Magistrate Judge Keith A. Pesto in Johnstown stay his present appeal in which he requests release from prison, noting the NAACP report has shed new light on his conviction for drug offenses in 2013.

Pesto on Tuesday denied Piner's request for a stay and remand to Blair County for an additional hearing based on the NAACP report.

The report was issued in November by NAACP President Andrae M. Holsey who, in reviewing the organization's records compiled by its late president Donald Witherspoon, became concerned about Operation Our Town's part in funding drug investigations.

The private nonprofit group has for years provided funding for a drug prosecutor in the Blair County District Attorney's office, and provides overtime pay to area police officers who participate in the joint local-state Drug Task Force.

Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks strongly defended Operation Our Town's program, which also provides funds to local agencies and programs that address the drug problem.

He stated that OOT provides badly needed funding to aid law enforcement attempts to arrest drug dealers and to "temper" the violence associated with illegal drug operations.

In addition, the Holsey report pointed out that one of the major targets of the 2011 task force investigation into a Baltimore-to-Altoona cocaine ring was "the Piner family" that included Ken Piner and a brother Stephen, both of whom were arrested and are serving long prison terms in State Correctional Institutions.

Both brothers have contested the fact they were "targeted at a higher level" (according to the NAACP report) than many of the others associated with the drug ring.

Ken Piner, now 63, was initially sentenced to a prison term of 36 to 72 years.

In 2021, Blair County Judge Daniel J. Milliron cut the sentence in half (18 to 36 years).

Despite that reduction, Ken Piner, who is incarcerated in the State Correctional Institution at Rockview in Centre County, continues in his quest to challenge the "Operation Last Call" investigation.

In October 2022, he filed a petition in the U.S. District Court in Johnstown listing 10 issues and seeking release from his ongoing prison term.

At least three of the issues addressed Operation Our Town's relationship with the DA's office and its continuing financial support for law enforcement.

Piner's petition remains under review by Pesto.

In December, just weeks after the release of the NAACP report, Piner filed another petition pointing out the Blair County organization "has found evidence suggesting misconduct in the Blair County District Attorney's office related to Drug Task Force operations and the involvement of the private, special interest nonprofit organization, 'Operation Our Town.'"

Senior Deputy Attorney General Christopher J. Schmidt opposed Piner's request.

Schmidt argued that Piner did not initially raise the issues concerning Operation Our Town at the state level, a step that is necessary before a federal review can occur.

He went on to state that Piner's complaint about funding by a nonprofit organization is not a recognized federal claim, and he concluded "particularly where he was prosecuted in the state court by the Office of Attorney General, not a local district attorney."

Pesto concluded that Piner's "oblique reference to a third-party opinion about law enforcement does not allow any conclusion that any hypothetical claim would be potentially meritorious."

Pesto still must issue a report and recommendation on Piner's overall petition and request for release from prison.