Hartford Woman Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Federal Prison for Selling Crack Cocaine
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 22, 2012 |
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Lerona Barno-Swain, 36, of King Street in Hartford, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to 87 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing crack cocaine.
This matter stems from Operation Slim Fast, a long-term investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force that focused on drug trafficking, firearm trafficking, and gang activity in the Bridgeport area. As a result of the investigation, 19 individuals have been charged in federal court with various narcotics and firearms related offenses.
According to court documents and statements made in court, intercepted calls and surveillance revealed that Barno-Swain and others were involved in a drug trafficking organization that trafficked crack cocaine in the Hartford area. On January 4, 2011, over 922 grams of crack cocaine and $100,000 in cash was found in her residence. The money was intended to buy four kilograms of cocaine in a deal broken up by law enforcement officers.
On January 5, 2012, Barno-Swain pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine. She also agreed to forfeit the cash that was seized as proceeds of drug trafficking.
Barno-Swain has been detained since her arrest on January 4, 2011.
This matter was investigated by the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force, which is composed of personnel from the FBI, and the Bridgeport, Norwalk, and Trumbull Police Departments. The United States Marshals Service; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Connecticut State Police; and Bridgeport, Norwalk, Stratford, Hartford, and Stamford Police Departments assisted the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tracy Dayton, Jonathan Freimann, and Doug Morabito.