Lehigh County commissioner among 22 arrested in sweeping drug probe
A sweeping drug investigation spanning several years has led to 22 arrests across multiple states, with authorities seizing large quantities of drugs, cash and firearms, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced Friday.
The probe, one of the largest in recent county history, stemmed from Lehigh County’s 12th Investigating Grand Jury. Holihan said the case remains active and more arrests are expected.
Lehigh County Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi, who has served since 2021, was among those charged. Holihan said Cole-Borghi was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute a pound of marijuana. He was arrested at Bethlehem City Hall, where he worked as the city’s open records officer, and later released on $50,000 bail.
Cole-Borghi could not immediately be reached for comment. In a statement, Bethlehem’s human resources director, Michelle Cichocki, said Cole-Borghi is no longer an employee of the city of Bethlehem.
Over three years, law enforcement carried out 26 search warrants at homes and businesses in Lehigh, Northampton and Montgomery counties, as well as in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and Wisconsin. Authorities are also processing warrants for 283 financial institution and cryptocurrency accounts.
Investigators have seized more than $100,000 in cash, multiple cryptocurrency accounts, more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana, large amounts of THC liquid, cocaine and MDMA pills. At least 25 firearms, including semi-automatic rifles and ghost guns, were also recovered. Two illegal labs producing THC products were dismantled in the Lehigh Valley by the Pennsylvania State Police Clandestine Laboratory Team.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Craig Scheetz said investigators recovered “massive amounts of evidence.”
“This type of case demonstrates the scope of drug trafficking operations that reach far beyond county borders,” Holihan said.
The effort involved cooperation from dozens of agencies, including the Lehigh County Drug Task Force, Pennsylvania State Police, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals, local police departments in Allentown, Bethlehem, South Whitehall and Upper Macungie, along with law enforcement in New York, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Funding came from the Liberty Mid-Atlantic High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Initiative. Chief Deputy District Attorneys Scheetz and Kevin P. McCloskey will prosecute the case.
Preliminary hearings are scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 3 at Lehigh County Central Court. Some defendants have already posted bail.
Holihan stressed that the arrests and charges are accusations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
