Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that EDUARDO CASIANO, 34, of Chaplin, Connecticut, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Mark R. Kravitz in New Haven to 240 months of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for conspiring to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, possession with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, possession with the intent to distribute heroin, and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana. On October 27, 2006, a federal jury in New Haven found CASIANO guilty of these charges.
On September 7, 2005, a federal grand jury returned a Superseding Indictment charging CASIANO and 28 other individuals with various narcotics offenses involving the distribution of heroin, cocaine and marijuana in and around Willimantic, Connecticut. The charges stem from an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) investigation dubbed “Operation WilliRiders,” which was spearheaded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Hartford, and related to contemporaneous investigations of alleged co-conspirators in Chicago, Illinois and Cleveland, Ohio. In Connecticut, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crime Gang Task Force, working closely with the Willimantic Police Department, conducted a three-month wiretap investigation.
CASIANO operated a drug trafficking enterprise from his 285 Willimantic Road residence in Chaplin, regularly selling various quantities of heroin, cocaine and marijuana to customers in Willimantic and elsewhere.
All 29 of the charged defendants have been convicted of various narcotics offenses.
Willimantic is a Department of Justice recognized and funded Weed and Seed site. Weed and Seed is a Department of Justice strategy that aims to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in targeted high-crime neighborhoods across the country. Law enforcement agencies and prosecutors cooperate in “weeding out” criminals who participate in violent crime and drug abuse, attempting to prevent their return to the targeted area. “Seeding” brings human services to the area, encompassing prevention, intervention, treatment, and neighborhood revitalization.
This investigation was a collaborative effort of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Willimantic Police Department, the States Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of Windham and the United States Attorney’s Office. Members of the Connecticut State Police and the Hartford Police assisted in the investigation. This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert M. Spector.
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