United States Drug Enforcement Administration

MERIDEN, Conn. - David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL LUISI, 53, of Meriden, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 72 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for narcotics trafficking and firearm possession offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2024, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and New Britain Police Department investigated a drug trafficking organization, headed by Wilfredo Ortiz, that was operating out of Supreme Automotive, a car dealership located on Main Street in New Britain.  The investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, physical and electronic surveillance, and several controlled purchases of narcotics, primarily cocaine, from Ortiz and other members of the conspiracy.  Luisi had an ownership interest in Supreme Automotive and was involved in the acquisition and distribution of cocaine.

Luisi, Ortiz, and several other members of the drug trafficking organization were arrested on November 14, 2024.  In association with the arrests, investigators conducted court authorized searches of Supreme Automotive and residences and other locations connected to the organization and seized more than five kilograms of cocaine, more than 200 grams of fentanyl, approximately 30 grams of heroin, a kilogram press, seven firearms, ammunition, approximately $75,000 in cash, and 26 vehicles.  A search of Luisi’s former residence in Berlin revealed evidence of narcotics distribution, a Bushmaster rifle, a Glock 9mm handgun, a Polymer 80 handgun (“ghost gun”), and $36,120 in cash.

On April 7, 2025, Luisi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Ortiz pleaded guilty and, on March 9, 2026, was sentenced to 135 months of imprisonment.

This investigation has been conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles Police, and the New Britain, Hartford, West Hartford, Waterbury, Naugatuck, East Hartford, Brookfield, Milford, Norwich, Orange, North Haven, Meriden, Berlin, and Manchester Police Departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha Freismuth, Reed Durham, and David Nelson.