Hartford Man Involved in Drug Trafficking Ring Sentenced to Federal Prison

Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RAFAEL GONZALEZ, 35, of Park Street, Hartford, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing cocaine. On February 19, 2009, GONZALEZ pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, cocaine.

The charge against GONZALEZ stems from “Operation Quiet Corner,” a 12-month, FBI and Connecticut State Police investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating primarily in northeastern Connecticut. The investigation included the use of confidential informants, controlled purchases of drugs and court-authorized telephone wiretaps. On April 9, 2008, a federal grand jury returned an Indictment charging GONZALEZ and 21 other individuals with various offenses related to the distribution of cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, between approximately January and March 2008, GONZALEZ purchased cocaine from another member of the conspiracy, a portion of which he sold to other individuals in the Hartford area.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Statewide Cooperative Crime Control Task Force and the Statewide Organized Crime Investigative Task Force of the Connecticut State Police, with assistance from the Hartford Police Department and Connecticut State Police, Troop D. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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