Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DAVID CINTRON, 26, of Manchester, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 78 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking fentanyl.

In July 2019, the DEA’s Hartford Task Force began investigating a Mexican-based drug trafficking organization that was distributing fentanyl and heroin in Connecticut.  The investigation revealed that Cintron, Armando Gonzalez and other members of the organization received kilogram-quantities of narcotics, primarily fentanyl, from a source in Mexico, and then distributed the drug to street-level distributors.  Members of the organization delivered cash generated from the sale of narcotics to a money broker in Brooklyn, New York, who assisted in laundering the narcotics proceeds before they were transferred to leaders of the drug trafficking organization.  Between August and October 2019, investigators seized more than $200,000 in cash from members of the drug trafficking organization.

Cintron and Gonzalez used several locations to store, process and package fentanyl for street stale, including office space on Pratt Street in Hartford, an apartment in the Asylum Hill neighborhood in Hartford, and an apartment in New Britain.

Cintron, Gonzalez and three associates were arrested on federal charges on April 28, 2020.  On that date, investigators searched the New Britain apartment and seized numerous bags of suspected fentanyl, items used to process and package narcotics, a 9mm firearm, 9mm ammunition, and cash.  Cintron was located in the bathroom of his Manchester residence, flushing suspected fentanyl in the toilet.

On June 3, 2020, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Cintron, Gonzalez and eight others with narcotics distribution and money laundering offenses.  On May 11, 2022, Cintron pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.  He has been detained since his arrest on April 28, 2020.

Gonzalez, of New Britain, pleaded guilty to related charges and, on June 27, 2022, was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment.

The DEA’s Hartford Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, Windsor Locks and Willimantic Police Departments.  Agencies assisting the investigation include the DEA New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Strike Force and the New York Police Department.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.