United States Drug Enforcement Administration

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - John J. Arvanitis, Special Agent in Charge of the New England Field Division and Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Andrew Melillo, 28, of Meriden, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing cocaine and oxycodone.

Melillo is one of more than 100 individuals charged as a result of "Operation Bloodline," a joint law enforcement investigation targeting narcotics trafficking and gang violence in the Dwight-Kensington and Fair Haven sections of New Haven.  Led by the DEA New Haven Task Force and the New Haven and Hamden Police Departments, the year-long investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps on numerous telephones, extensive physical surveillance, controlled purchases of narcotics, execution of search warrants, and seizures of narcotics and firearms.

The investigation revealed that Melillo conspired with others to distribute cocaine and oxycodone.

Melillo was arrested on May 22, 2012.  On February 28, 2013, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, cocaine and oxycodone.

Melillo, who has been released on bond since shortly after his arrest, was ordered to report to prison on December 27, 2013.

This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration's New Haven Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, Branford, Ansonia and Meriden Police Departments.  The United States Marshals Service, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, Parole and Community Services and the Milford, Hartford, New Britain, North Branford and Stratford Police Departments have provided valuable assistance to the investigation.