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Date: 04-11-2024
Case Style:
Case Number: 3:22-cr-00253
Judge: Michael P. Shea
Court: The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (New Haven County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in New Haven
Defendant's Attorney: David J. Wenc
Description:
California Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl and Cocaine to Connecticut
VICTOR RODRIGUEZ-GOMEZ, also known as “Calami,” 49, of Desert Hot Springs, California, was sentenced to 156 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for trafficking large quantities of fentanyl and cocaine to Connecticut.
In 2022, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force identified suspicious packages that were being mailed to a New Britain address connected to Rodriguez-Gomez and his associate, Ramon Ramos-Acevedo, who resided in New Britain. A court-authorized search of one package, which had been mailed from California, revealed approximately one kilogram of fentanyl and one kilogram of heroin. In July 2022, USPIS investigators in San Bernardino, California, contacted Connecticut investigators to report that a court-authorized search of a package that was addressed to a residence on Willow Street in New Britain revealed eight cell phones. On August 1, 2022, investigators conducted a controlled delivery of the package in New Britain and observed Rodriguez-Gomez and Ramos-Acevedo take possession of it.
Investigators identified several additional suspicious packages associated with Ramos-Acevedo and, on August 11, 2022, observed Ramos-Acevedo in California mailing packages to an address in New Britain.
Investigators also developed evidence that Rodriguez-Gomez had an associate who used a van to transport narcotics from California, or another location in the southwestern United States, to addresses in Connecticut associated with Ramos-Acevedo. On August 25, 2022, investigators observed Ramos-Acevedo unloading items from the van in New Britain.
On September 7, 2022, the Connecticut State Police, which was assisting with surveillance, stopped a vehicle that Ramos-Acevedo was driving in Newington for a motor vehicle violation. Rodriguez-Gomez was a passenger in the vehicle. After a K-9 alerted to several items within the vehicle, a search revealed $179,578 in cash and nine cellphones. A subsequent search of a house in Farmington where Ramos-Acevedo claimed he was living resulted in the seizure of an additional $30,426 in cash.
On November 30, 2022, the Iowa State Patrol stopped Rodriguez-Gomez’s associate, Martin Cooper, who was driving the van that had been identified in August 2022. A search of the van revealed approximately 22 kilograms of cocaine and two kilograms of fentanyl, which was destined for Ramos-Acevedo in New Britain.
Rodriguez-Gomez has been detained since his arrest on December 4, 2022. On December 4, 2023, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and five kilograms or more of cocaine.
Ramos-Acevedo pleaded guilty to the same charge on January 22, 2024, and is detained while awaiting sentencing.
Cooper pleaded guilty to a related charge in the Southern District of Iowa and also awaits sentencing.
This investigation has been conducted by the DEA’s Hartford Task Force and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force. The DEA Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and Windsor Locks Police Departments. The USPIS Task Force includes members from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service – Office of the Inspector General, the Connecticut Army National Guard, and the Hartford, New Britain, Meriden, and Town of Groton Police Departments.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Geoffrey M. Stone and Shan Patel.
Outcome:
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
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