United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

STAMFORD MAN SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR SELLING NARCOTICS

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that EDGAR LEE POWELL, also known as “E Lee” and “Eg,” 44, of Adams Avenue, Stamford, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release, for distributing crack cocaine.

This matter stems from an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) investigation dubbed “Operation Big Loot,” a six-month investigation that was spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Stamford Police Department’s Narcotics and Organized Crime Squad.  As a result of the investigation, a total of 52 individuals have been charged in state and federal court with various narcotics offenses related to the distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine in the greater Stamford area.  During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized approximately $165,000 in cash, one kilogram of cocaine, two kilograms of crack cocaine, five firearms and several vehicles.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on eight occasions over a 10-day period in September 2009, POWELL purchased between five and 20 grams of crack cocaine from another individual, and then sold the crack in smaller quantities for profit.

On April 9, 2010, POWELL pleaded guilty to two counts of using a telephone to facilitate the distribution of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”).  Today, Judge Arterton sentenced POWELL to 30 months on each count, to be served consecutively.

POWELL has been detained since his arrest on December 7, 2010.

This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force – which is composed of members of the Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwalk and Stratford Police Departments, and the Connecticut State Police – the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Stamford Police Department’s Narcotics and Organized Crime Squad.  The United States Marshals Service, the Connecticut State Police, and the Norwalk, Bridgeport, Darien, Greenwich and Danbury Police Departments assisted in the arrests of several of the defendants.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Spector and Jonathan Freimann.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov