David B. Fein, United States Attorney
for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal jury in New
Haven has found two Bridgeport men guilty of charges stemming from their
participation in gang-related narcotics trafficking. The trial before United
States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton began on August 20, and the jury
returned the verdicts yesterday after deliberating for approximately three
hours.
Joseph Reyes, also known as “Fat Joe,”
“Deep” and “RJ,” 28; and Richard Daniels, also known as “Po” and “Wap,” 30,
were each found guilty of one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to
distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and 280 grams or more of cocaine base
(“crack cocaine”) and one count of conspiracy to maintain a drug-involved
premises. Reyes also was found guilty of one count of possession of a firearm
by a previously convicted felon.
This matter stems from Operation Slim
Fast, a joint law enforcement investigation that focused on two drug
trafficking organizations, one that operated out of Bridgeport and one that
operated out of Bridgeport, Puerto Rico, and Springfield, Massachusetts. In
2010, members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Bridgeport Safe Streets
Task Force initiated an investigation of narcotics trafficking activity in and
around the Marina Village Housing Complex in Bridgeport that focused primarily
on the Marina Village Bloods, a violent narcotics trafficking organization.
Members of the Marina Village Bloods have been responsible for, or connected
to, multiple shootings in Bridgeport.
The evidence at trial established that
Reyes, Daniels and others, who were members of the Sex, Money, Murder set of
the Marina Village Bloods, sold large quantities of narcotics from an abandoned
residence at 105/107 Johnson Street, which is located across from the street
from the Marina Village Housing Complex. On multiple occasions, Reyes and
Daniels were intercepted over court-authorized wiretaps discussing their
narcotics trafficking activities. The wiretapped conversations further revealed
that members of the Marina Village Bloods alternately referred to the Johnson
Street residence as the “kitchen,” “trap,” or “white house.”
The evidence at trial also established
that Reyes, who has multiple previous felony convictions, possessed firearms,
including a Taurus .40 caliber handgun that was purchased for him by a
co-defendant who had no prior felony convictions.
It is a violation of federal law for a
person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or
ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Judge Arterton has scheduled sentencing
for November 26, 2012, at which time Reyes and Daniels face a minimum term of
imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life for
conspiring to distribute narcotics and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20
years for conspiring to maintain a drug-involved premises. Reyes also faces a
maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years for being a felon in possession of a
firearm.
Reyes and Daniels have been detained
since their arrests on January 5, 2011.
As a result of this investigation, 19
individuals have been charged in federal court with various narcotics and
firearms related offenses, and law enforcement officers seized approximately
four kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of crack cocaine, a quantity of heroin,
an SKS assault rifle, five handguns, and more than $150,000 in cash.
This matter was investigated by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force—which is
composed of personnel from the FBI and the Bridgeport, Norwalk, and Trumbull
Police Departments—with assistance from the United States Marshals Service;
Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; Drug Enforcement
Administration; Connecticut State Police; and Hartford, Stratford, and Stamford
Police Departments.
The case is being prosecuted by
Assistant United States Attorneys Tracy Dayton, Jonathan Freimann, and Doug
Morabito.
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