Bridgeport Man Sentenced to More Than 17 Years in Federal Prison for Destroying Evidence in Heroin Case

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that IVAN ROSARIO, also known as “Ghost,” 34, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 210 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in the destruction of evidence.

According to court documents and statements made in court, an investigation revealed that Rosario headed a Bridgeport-based heroin trafficking organization that, between approximately April 2015 and March 2017, received at least 30 kilograms of heroin that had been transported from Mexico to Bridgeport hidden inside motorcycles equipped with secret compartments.  The organization then distributed the drug in the Bridgeport area. 

During the investigation, investigators seized approximately $100,000 from a hidden compartment in one of Rosario’s cars, and approximately $90,000 in cash that was hidden in the residences of family members.

On March 16, 2017, a grand jury in Hartford returned an indictment charging Rosario and six other individuals with heroin trafficking and related offenses.

Between March and May 2017, while he was detained in federal custody and awaiting trial, Rosario schemed to destroy potential evidence.  As part of the scheme, Rosario used threats to force his child’s mother to destroy her cellphone because it contained “dangerous” information that would be used against him during trial.  According to testimony at Rosario’s trial, the cellphone was discarded in the Long Island Sound.

On April 24, 2018, a jury found Rosario guilty of one count of causing or inducing any person to destroy evidence.  The jury could not reach a verdict on one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, and found Rosario not guilty of one count of witness tampering and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Rosario has been detained since his arrest on March 3, 2017.

This matter has been investigated by the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force, DEA’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, Bridgeport Police Department and Stratford Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Vizcarrondo and Alina Reynolds.