News Release
For Immediate Release:
April 28, 2010
Contact: Special Agent Tony Pettigrew
Number: 617-557-2138

Bridgeport Man Sentenced To More Than Nine Years In Federal Prison For Selling Narcotics

APR 28 -- Steven W. Derr, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SAMUEL LEE, also known as “Slick,” 25, of Washington Terrace, Bridgeport, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 115 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for distributing crack cocaine.  On February 1, 2010, LEE pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”).

This matter stems from an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) investigation dubbed “Operation Big Loot,” a six-month investigation that was spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Stamford Police Department’s Narcotics and Organized Crime Squad.  As a result of the investigation, a total of 52 individuals have been charged in state and federal court with various narcotics offenses related to the distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine in the greater Stamford area.  During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized approximately $165,000 in cash, one kilogram of cocaine, two kilograms of crack cocaine, five firearms and several vehicles.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on multiple occasions in September and October 2009, LEE purchased a total of approximately 48.5 grams of crack cocaine and 18 grams of powder cocaine, which he then sold in smaller quantities for profit.  At the time, LEE was on special parole as a result of an unrelated Connecticut state court conviction.

LEE has been detained in federal custody since his arrest on December 4, 2009.

This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force – which is composed of members of the Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwalk and Stratford Police Departments, and the Connecticut State Police – the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Stamford Police Department’s Narcotics and Organized Crime Squad.  The United States Marshals Service, the Connecticut State Police, and the Norwalk, Bridgeport, Darien, Greenwich and Danbury Police Departments assisted in the arrests of several of the defendants.