New Haven Fentanyl Trafficker Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that NELSON SANTINI, 28, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for distributing fentanyl.  Judge Shea ordered that Santini must serve the first six months of his supervised release in home confinement.

According to court documents and statements made in court, law enforcement identified Santini as a heroin and fentanyl trafficker in the New Haven.  On August 13, 2021, members of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force made a controlled purchase of approximately 50 grams of fentanyl from Santini.

Santini was arrested on state charges on December 10, 2021.  On that date, a search of a car he had been driving revealed 93 individual dose bags of heroin, more than 100 bags of cocaine, and a loaded 9mm handgun.

Santini has been detained since his federal arrest on April 6, 2022.  On December 22, 2022, he pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of 40 grams or more fentanyl.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force, which includes members from the FBI, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, and the New Haven, Milford, East Haven, West Haven, and Wallingford Police Departments.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Conor M. Reardon and Robert S. Ruff.