United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO 70 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR ROLE IN DRUG TRAFFICKING RING

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TOMMY GARCIA, also known as “Gordo,” 27, of Valentine Avenue in the Bronx, NY, was sentenced yesterday, September 9, by Chief United States District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 70 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for distributing crack and powder cocaine.  On April 16, 2010, GARCIA pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and fifty grams or more of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”).

This matter stems from an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force 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, GARCIA worked as a runner for a drug trafficking organization located in the Bronx, New York and was responsible for making deliveries of crack and powder cocaine, and for accepting payments for these narcotics on behalf of the organization.  In total, GARCIA participated in the distribution of more than 4.5 kilograms of crack cocaine.

GARCIA, who had no prior criminal record, has been detained since his arrest on December 2, 2009.

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