Retired nurse sentenced to five years in prison for drug trafficking and money laundering
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s New England Division, and John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Christine Miles, 59, of Windsor Locks, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for drug trafficking and money laundering offenses related to the distribution of heroin and various prescription medications.
According to court documents and statements made in court, beginning in approximately 1998, Miles and others conspired to possess and distribute heroin, oxymorphone, hydrocodone and alprazolam. Miles is a retired nurse.
On Aug. 4, 2016, members of the North Central Narcotics Task Force and the DEA conducted a court-authorized search of Miles and Montoya’s residence at 350 North Street in Windsor Locks and seized a large quantity of various prescription medications, approximately two pounds of marijuana, $10,093 in cash and more than $13,000 in gift cards. Miles and her husband, Oscar Montoya, were arrested on state charges after the search.
The investigation revealed that, through this drug trafficking conspiracy, Miles and Montoya amassed more than $700,000 in a number of individual and jointly held bank accounts. The investigation also revealed that, after Miles’ arrest on state drug charges in August 2016, Miles and Montoya used $17,359 of drug proceeds to purchase 11 U.S. Postal Service money orders and a bank cashier’s check payable to a New Jersey-based moving company for a planned move from Connecticut to New Mexico.
Miles and Montoya were arrested on federal charges on Nov.16, 2017, and have been detained since their arrests. On Feb. 2, 2018, another court-authorized search of their North Street residence revealed additional drug evidence and $41,904 in cash.
On May 15, 2018, Miles pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, heroin, oxymorphone, hydrocodone and alprazolam, and one count of engaging and attempting to engage in a monetary transaction affecting interstate commerce, involving criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000.
As part of this case, Miles and Montoya agreed to forfeit their Windsor Locks residence and $767,056.74 seized from the residence and multiple bank accounts.
Montoya pleaded guilty to the same charges and, Sep. 4, 2018, was sentenced to 36 months of imprisonment.
On May 22, 2018, Miles’s daughter, Christy Miles, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, heroin, oxymorphone, hydrocodone and alprazolam. She awaits sentencing.
This matter has been investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Resident Office and the U.S. Marshals Service, with the valuable assistance of the North Central Narcotics Task Force and the Windsor Locks, Enfield, Vernon, East Windsor and Manchester Police Departments.
