Waterbury Man Sentenced to Five Years In Federal Prison for Dealing Cocaine

Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that AARON CROSS, 30, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by eight years of supervised release, for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute, and to distribute, cocaine. CROSS pleaded guilty to the charge on April 3, 2008.

On May 22, 2007, a federal grand jury returned an Indictment charging CROSS and several other individuals with various narcotics offenses involving the distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine in central Connecticut. During the course of the investigation underlying the Indictment, it was learned that CROSS was a street-level dealer who was acquiring cocaine from Eluid Rivera, also known as “Smokey,” a Waterbury-based narcotics supplier.

Rivera pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and, on January 23, 2008, was sentenced to 135 months of imprisonment.

This investigation was a collaborative effort of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Waterbury Police Department and the Meriden Police Department. This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert M. Spector and S. Dave Vatti.