Hartford Heroin Dealer Sentenced to 37 Months in Federal Prison

Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JOSUE VALENTIN, 25, of Brinley Avenue, Hartford, was sentenced yesterday by Senior United States District Judge Peter C. Dorsey in New Haven to 37 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiring to distribute narcotics in Hartford. On December 4, 2009, VALENTIN pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin.

This matter stems from “Operation Solid Gold,” a joint law enforcement investigation headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force. The year-long investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of cocaine and heroin, and physical surveillance. As a result of the investigation, 55 individuals were charged with various offenses related to the distribution of cocaine and heroin in and around Hartford.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in November and December 2008, VALENTIN was intercepted multiple times over the wiretap ordering heroin and other drugs from another member of the conspiracy, which VALENTIN sold to his own customers.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, the Statewide Cooperative Crime Control Task Force of the Connecticut State Police and the Hartford Police Department, with assistance from the Statewide Organized Crime Investigative Task Force of the Connecticut State Police, Connecticut State Police, Troop H, and the Connecticut Department of Correction. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Brian P. Leaming and Geoffrey M. Stone.