Jeanine Pirro, newly sworn in as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, has wasted no time making her mark. In just the past week, her office secured sentences for robbers involved in a violent home invasion, three men trafficking fentanyl, a marijuana dealer who passed a machine gun, and a father convicted of child sexual abuse. She also oversaw the conviction of two D.C. men tied to a fentanyl and cocaine conspiracy, linked to a March 2024 shooting.
Those men, Jamiek “Onion” Bassil and Charles “Cheese” Manson, received 135 and 175 months in prison. Prosecutors said they were part of the “21st and Vietnam” crew, which controlled an open-air drug market in Northeast D.C. Investigators linked them to multiple fentanyl sales, drug paraphernalia, and a handgun recovered after a shooting. Pirro highlighted that their case underscores the lethal threat fentanyl poses, with even two milligrams capable of being fatal.
Pirro’s team also secured a conviction in a separate high-profile case. Taylor Taranto, a 39-year-old from Washington state, was found guilty of gun and ammunition offenses after livestreaming threats about detonating a bomb near the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland. He drove his van across state lines, staged a false emergency, and discussed targeting a neutron generator. Judge Carl J. Nichols found him guilty on all charges, with sentencing to follow.
Taken together, these cases signal Pirro’s determination to crack down on violent crime, drug trafficking, and public safety threats in the nation’s capital. Her approach has combined swift prosecution, coordination with law enforcement, and an emphasis on sending a clear message: Washington, D.C., will not tolerate lawlessness under her watch.
