Court Opinion

ID: 9753021
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 18:51:23.999502+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:42:24.284327
License: Public Domain

*347CIRILLO, President Judge,
dissenting:
I join Judge Cavanaugh’s dissenting opinion which would, pursuant to Commonwealth v. Devers, 519 Pa. 88, 546 A.2d 12 (1988), affirm Michael Rizzi’s judgment of sentence. I write separately, however, because I cannot agree with the portion of the dissent which states that “using the cover of a legitimate business enterprise in order to deal illicit drugs and thereby attempting to escape law enforcement scrutiny are reasons to call for a more serious sentence than one who openly engages in the sale of drugs on the street.” Selling illicit drugs, whether on the street or behind a counter, is a horrific act with harmful and, far too often, fatal consequences. For this court to assign a greater degree of seriousness to the selling of drugs under the guise of a legitimate business than it does to the open and notorious selling of drugs on the street is ludicrous. In my opinion, they are equally reprehensible.