Meriden Man Pleads Guilty to Running Cocaine and Crack Ring While Incarcerated

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that WESTLEY NORTHRUP, also known as “Piff,” 30, of Meriden, pleaded guilty yesterday in Hartford federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base (“crack”).

This matter stems from a joint investigation headed by the DEA New Haven Task Force that has included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of crack cocaine, and seizures of cocaine and cash proceeds.  The investigation revealed that NORTHRUP operated a cocaine and crack cocaine trafficking ring while he was incarcerated in state custody at the Cheshire Correctional Institution.  The investigation, which included consensually-recorded prison calls, revealed that NORTHRUP conspired with others to purchase cocaine from suppliers, convert some of the cocaine to crack cocaine, and then distribute crack and cocaine through a network of dealers in central Connecticut.

On July 20, 2017, a grand jury in New Haven returned a nine-count indictment charging NORTHRUP and 10 other individuals with various offenses.

NORTHRUP faces a maximum term of imprisonment of life.  He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on October 24, 2018.

This matter is being investigated by the DEA New Haven Task Force, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Middletown and New Britain Police Departments.  The DEA New Haven Task Force includes participants from the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, East Haven, Branford, Ansonia, Meriden and Derby Police Departments, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney H. Gordon Hall.