Saturday, April 17, 2010

Guilford Man Sentenced to 33 Months for Distributing Cocaine

April 17, 2010 - Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that WILLIAM GAMBARDELLA, 31, of Laurel Brook Drive, Guilford, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 33 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiring to distribute cocaine. On January 25, 2010, GAMBARDELLA pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

This matter stems from an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) investigation dubbed “Operation Brass Deal,” which was spearheaded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force in New Haven. As a result of the investigation, a total of 16 individuals have been charged with various narcotics offenses related to the large-scale distribution of cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana and oxycodone in New Haven, East Haven, Branford, West Haven and other towns in New Haven County. During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized more than $75,000 in cash, more than one kilogram of cocaine and approximately 750 grams of crack cocaine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in February 2009, while awaiting sentencing in the unrelated state matter, GAMBARDELLA was involved in the purchase and distribution of approximately 42 grams of cocaine.

On February 27, 2009, GAMBARDELLA was sentenced in state court to 10 years of incarceration, execution suspended after five years, and three years of probation, stemming from his sale of drugs. Today, Judge Underhill ordered that GAMBARDELLA must serve 12 months of the 33-month federal sentence consecutive to the state sentence that GAMBARDELLA is currently serving.

GAMBARDELLA has been detained in state custody since February 27, 2009.

This matter was investigated by the FBI New Haven Safe Streets Task Force, which is composed of representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Haven Police Department, the Ansonia Police Department, the Milford Police Department, the East Haven Police Department, the Connecticut State Police and the Connecticut Department of Correction. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert M. Spector and Christopher M. Mattei.

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