Former Cambria County Prison inmate gets additional time

Monarrez guilty of racketeering activity in Cambria prison

A former inmate at the Cambria County Prison was sentenced in federal court to an additional 33 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his conviction of conducting and participating in the affairs of an enterprise through racketeering activity, U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti announced.

Marcos Monarrez Jr., 27, was among 10 individuals charged through an indictment unsealed in July 2025 with racketeering activity in the Cambria County Prison.

U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan imposed the sentence on Monarrez on Wednesday. Judge Ranjan ordered the sentence to be served consecutively to the life sentence Monarrez is currently serving on his conviction for violating the federal "Kingpin" drug-trafficking statute for operating a continuing criminal enterprise as well as money laundering.

According to information presented to the court, from July 2023 to December 2023, while incarcerated at the Cambria County Prison, Monarrez conducted and participated in the affairs of an enterprise through racketeering activity. Specifically, Monarrez bribed correctional officers and medical staff to smuggle contraband into the prison, namely cellphones and K2, which were then sold to other inmates for a substantial profit. In addition to the bribery, Monarrez also directed multiple individuals to send and receive money for the contraband on his behalf.

To date, eight of the defendants in the case have pleaded guilty, with four now having been sentenced.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force, the Cambria County District Attorney's Office and the Cambria County Prison worked together on the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Monarrez.