United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

HARTFORD CRACK DEALER SENTENCED SEVEN YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

Kevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that NEGUS FORRESTER, 30, of Hartford, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 84 months of imprisonment.  On August 8, 2005, FORRESTER pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute more than 1.5 kilograms of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”).

This matter stems from a 10-month investigation, code named “Operation Big Boy,” which was conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crime Gang Task Force with the assistance of the Hartford Police Department.  The investigation included wiretaps on nine telephones, months of surveillance, and numerous purchases and seizures of crack cocaine in Hartford.  Approximately 60 individuals were arrested and convicted of federal charges stemming from this investigation.

The investigation revealed that FORRESTER obtained crack cocaine from other defendants in the case and then gave it to other individuals for distribution in and around Hartford.

FORRESTER was arrested on November 12, 2004.  At the time of his arrest, a law enforcement search of a stash house used by FORRESTER yielded more than 800 grams of crack cocaine.

FORRESTER, who has been detained since his arrest, faces deportation to Jamaica following his release from prison.

U.S. Attorney O’Connor recognized 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 in Hartford.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hartford Police, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Connecticut State Police, the United States Marshals Service, the Windsor Police Department, the Connecticut Judicial Marshals, the Hartford Housing Authority, the Meriden Police Department, the Wallingford Police Department, the South Windsor Police Department and the Manchester Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorneys Raymond F. Miller, Robert M. Spector, and Dave Vatti are prosecuting these cases.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov