Rhode Island Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Narcotics Offense
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 19, 2013 |
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Edward Prezioso, also known as “Wu Loc,” 25, of Westerly, Rhode Island, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Warren W. Eginton in Bridgeport to 18 months of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release. On December 14, 2012, Prezioso pleaded guilty to one count of using a telephone to facilitate a narcotics felony.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from an investigation conducted by the FBI New Haven Safe Streets Task Force, the New Haven Police Department, and the Connecticut State Police into drug distribution and related violence allegedly being committed by members and associates of the Grape Street Crips in New Haven.
On February 6, 2012, Prezioso was intercepted over a court-authorized wiretap discussing the acquisition and distribution of crack cocaine with a co-defendant in New Haven.
On April 9, 2012, a grand jury returned an indictment charging 18 individuals, including Prezioso, with narcotics distribution offenses stemming from this investigation. To date, nine of the defendants have pleaded guilty. The other nine defendants are detained while awaiting trial.
With respect to the defendants awaiting trial, U.S. Attorney Fein stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was being investigated by the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets Task Force, which includes officers from the New Haven, Hamden and Milford Police Departments, and the State of Connecticut Department of Correction. The investigation was significantly assisted by the Connecticut State Police, the United States Marshals Service, and the Westerly (Rhode Island) Police Department.
The investigation was funded in significant part by the United States Attorney’s Office Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and supported by the Office’s Project Safe Neighborhoods and Anti-Gang programs.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony Kaplan and Gordon Hall.