News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2008

Massachusetts Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Drug Trafficking Ring

APR 28 -- June W. Stansbury, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in New England and Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ANGEL SANTIAGO, 35, of Barnaby Street, Fall River, Massachusetts, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Peter C. Dorsey in New Haven to 18 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. SANTIAGO pleaded guilty to the offense on November 27, 2007.

This matter stems from an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) investigation dubbed “Operation Ragdoll,” which was spearheaded by the DEA in Hartford. According to statements made in court, over an 18-month period, SANTIAGO purchased ounce quantities of cocaine from Luis Joel Soto-Solivan for redistribution to customers in the Fall River area. SANTIAGO was arrested on June 20, 2006.

Soto-Solivan pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine. On September 27, 2007, Judge Dorsey sentenced him to 262 months of imprisonment. SANTIAGO’s brother, Jose Santiago, and two sisters, Wilmary and Windy Torres, also were convicted in this case. Jose Santiago was sentenced to 15 months of imprisonment, and Wilmary and Windy Torres each received terms of probation.

Acting U.S. Attorney Dannehy commended the law enforcement agents and officers who conducted the investigation and praised their devoted efforts to identify, disrupt and dismantle this substantial narcotics trafficking operation.

This investigation is a collaborative effort of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New Britain Police Department, and the Fall River (MA) Police Department.