A Hartford man will be spending 27 years in jail for conspiring to distribute cocaine in western Pennsylvania and elsewhere, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Pittsburgh.

Terrance Tarver, 29, of 7928 Thompson-Sharpsville Road, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Gary L. Lancaster. Tarver pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate drug laws, said the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Between 1994 and 1999, Tarver was involved in a conspiracy to distribute 600 pounds of cocaine, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Tarver used couriers, including a private pilot, to bring the drugs from Houston by private plane and commercial airlines on 20 occasions.

Each transaction brought 44 to 55 pounds of cocaine valued, at up to $200,000, from his Texas source, Roy Mercer. Mercer recently entered a guilty plea and six others were indicted Dec. 6, 2001.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation and Drug Control and New Castle police.