Man Who Operated New Haven Crack Ring Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Michael J. Ferguson Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Marlon Gonzalez, also known as “Rey,” 26, of New Haven, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for operating a cocaine and crack cocaine distribution ring in New Haven.
According to court documents and statements made in court, a DEA New Haven Task Force investigation, which included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, revealed that between July and November 2014, Gonzalez regularly obtained bulk quantities of cocaine from Deivy Pineda-Peguero of the Bronx, N.Y, on consignment. Gonzalez, with the assistance of Wilfredo Garcia-Quinones, a.k.a “Poro,” and others, converted a large portion of the cocaine into crack and distributed the drug in the New Haven area. Gonzalez then paid Pineda-Peguero with proceeds from the drug sales.
Gonzalez has been detained since his federal arrest on November 10, 2014. At the time of his arrest, Gonzalez had been released on bond in connection with pending state drug and gun charges. In July 2014, Gonzalez was arrested by New Haven Police after his car was pulled over and he was found in possession of crack, a loaded firearm and a ski mask. In addition, during the early stages of the DEA’s wiretap investigation, intercepted communications revealed that Gonzalez had supplied a firearm to another individual. Police located the vehicle in which the other individual was traveling, arrested the individual and charged him with a state weapons offense. On September 9, 2016, Gonzalez pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine (“crack”). Pineda, 31, and Garcia, 32, also previously pleaded guilty. On January 13, 2016, Pineda was sentenced to 71 months of imprisonment and, on December 22, 2015, Garcia was sentenced to 60 months of imprisonment. In addition six other men who were street-level drug dealers affiliated with Gonzalez’s organization were charged, pleaded guilty, and await sentencing. They are Julius Batista, a.k.a. “Julz,” 24, of New Haven; Felix Jimenez, a.k.a. “Fee,” 28, of New Haven; Andre Scott, a.k.a. “Pooh,” 26, of New Haven; Giovany Cosme, a.k.a. “Gio,” 25, of West Haven; Jerome Rumley, a.k.a. “Rome,” 21, of New Haven, and Peter Diaz, a.k.a. “Pete,” 31, of Meriden.
The DEA New Haven Task Force includes participants from the New Haven, Hamden, Branford, Meriden, West Haven, North Haven, East Haven, Derby and Ansonia police departments.
