United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

Project Safe Neighborhoods: STAMFORD MAN SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR ILLEGAL GUN POSSESSION

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CRAIG DRALLE, 36, of Broad Street, Stamford, was sentenced yesterday, November 22, by Senior United States District Judge Warren W. Eginton in Bridgeport to 21 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.  On August 24, 2010, DRALLE pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.

According to court documents and statements made in court, late in the afternoon of December 27, 2009, Stamford Police received a report of a man “waving a handgun” in the vicinity of 201 Broad Street in Stamford.  Officers responding to the scene then received information that the suspect could be in the vicinity of a hotel located on East Main Street in Stamford.  A Stamford Police officer subsequently encountered DRALLE in the lobby of the hotel and ordered him to the ground at gun point.  After subduing DRALLE, officers discovered a loaded .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun tucked inside his pants.

In 1998, DRALLE was convicted in U.S. District Court in Connecticut of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.  It is a violation of federal law for a previously convicted felon to knowingly possess a firearm or ammunition that has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce.

This case was investigated by the Stamford Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, pursuant to the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative in Stamford.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert M. Spector.

The Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative is aimed at reducing gun and gang violence, deterring illegal possession of guns, and improving the safety of residents in Connecticut’s cities.  Participants in the initiative include community members and organizations as well as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

CONTACT:

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