Pennsylvania Police Charge County Official With 89 Felonies

A Democratic county commissioner in Pennsylvania was arrested Wednesday on more than 100 felony drug charges after prosecutors said he arranged cocaine deals from government buildings and even during an official board meeting.

Zachary Cole Borghi, 35, a Lehigh County commissioner, faces 89 felony counts for allegedly using his personal cellphone to set up drug transactions, along with 14 felony counts of cocaine delivery and one count of delivering psilocybin mushrooms, according to Armchair Lehigh Valley. A 175-page affidavit filed by prosecutors contains over 1,000 text messages between Cole Borghi and three cooperating witnesses showing him negotiating prices and coordinating handoffs. Cole Borghi and his contacts used Apple Cash and Cash App to settle payments, the outlet reported.

District Attorney Gavin Holihan told CBS News Philadelphia that investigators corroborated one alleged deal by syncing commissioners meeting video footage with the timestamps on Cole Borghi’s recovered cellphone messages. Prosecutors also allege he sold cocaine at Northampton Community College while attending a “Peace and Justice Symposium,” the outlet reported. (RELATED: REPORT: Sister Of Former Democratic Congressman Allegedly Left Bag Of Cocaine In Elementary School Bathroom)

The new charges are separate from Cole Borghi’s August 2025 arrest, when he was one of more than 40 people swept up in a multistate drug trafficking probe, Armchair Lehigh Valley reported. His original charges were two marijuana-related misdemeanors. He posted $50,000 bail at the time and won re-election last November, defeating his Republican challenger by more than 5,000 votes despite the pending case.

Read the text messages: Lehigh commissioner sold drugs from Bethlehem City Hall, joked about county position, court docs allege https://t.co/Lbaw2eMHH5

— The Morning Call (@mcall) March 25, 2026

“I don’t think Mr. Cole Borghi is a particular target because of his position in politics,” Holihan told Lehigh Valley Live. “He’s being arrested because the evidence shows that he appears to have been dealing in drugs for a long period of time using his cellphone to do so and left a digital trail of those charges.”

Board Chair Geoff Brace told CBS News Philadelphia the allegations are “very serious” but noted the board has no authority to force a commissioner out based solely on criminal charges. Commissioners Antonio Pineda and Ron Beitler have separately called on Cole Borghi to step down, according to CBS News Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley Live respectively.

Cole Borghi remains in the Lehigh County Jail on $500,000 bail.