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

Danbury Man Sentenced To Five Years In Federal Prison For Assisting Danbury Crack Cocaine Dealers

JUN 28 -- Steven W. Derr, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JAMES CEPERLEY, 46, of Danbury, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Peter C. Dorsey in New Haven to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his involvement in a Danbury-area crack cocaine ring.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Aaron Thompson, also known as “A” and “A-Plus,” of Bridgeport, headed a crack cocaine distribution ring that served dozens of customers in and around Danbury.  The DEA Task Force investigation, which included controlled purchases of narcotics and court-authorized wiretaps over several telephones, revealed that Thompson regularly obtained large quantities of cocaine, converted or “cooked” the cocaine into crack, and then distributed it to others for street sale.

CEPERLEY was a drug user who steered other drug users to Thompson and Joseph Fonseca of Danbury, one of Thompson’s lieutenants, who would make as many as 700 drug sales a day.  CEPERLEY was paid in drugs for his assistance.  CEPERLEY also provided a location from which Thompson and Fonseca could make drug sales and would alert them to the presence of law enforcement.

On February 1, 2010, CEPERLEY pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base (“crack cocaine.”)

Thompson and Fonseca each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”), and have been sentenced to 168 months and 87 months of imprisonment, respectively.

This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force – which includes representatives from the Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, Stratford and Bridgeport Police Departments – in cooperation with the Danbury Police Special Investigations Division.  The New Milford Police Department also assisted in the investigation.