May 06, 2016
A Chester County student has been charged with buying drugs from the shadows of the Internet and selling them to his colleagues.
The Monroe County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday the arrest of East Stroudsburg University student Michael Mancini, 20. Prosecutors say the Landenberg resident used the Dark Web to purchase LSD.
According to authorities, an informant tipped off detectives to Mancini's activities. The informant said Mancini used the Dark Web — online content that uses public Internet but requires special software to access — to buy the psychedelic drug, some of which he used himself and some he sold to peers.
Mancini also showed the informant how to hire a hitman using the Dark Web, according to prosecutors.
The resident director at Mancini's dorm assisted authorities in their investigation when he received a package from Hawaii — something the director deemed "suspicious" — on May 3, authorities said.
Detectives got a search warrant and seized the package, which contained 25 doses of LSD, prosecutors said.
Mancini's dorm room was searched and money, a computer, cell phone and drug paraphernalia were seized.
Further investigation revealed Mancini used bitcoins — online currency used for peer-to-peer transactions — and a special software program to hide his activities, according to authorities.
Mancini has been charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility and several misdemeanor offenses.
He was released on bail from Monroe County Correctional Facility and will appear in court at a yet-to-be-announced date. An investigation into the location of the return address for the Hawaii package is ongoing.
