United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

Project Safe Neighborhoods: TWO WATERBURY MEN SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON

Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that two Waterbury men arrested last year as a result of a joint law enforcement investigation into the Latin Kings in Waterbury were sentenced today in federal court.

WILLIAM BELTRAN, also known as “Welo,” 23, was sentenced by United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 50 months of imprisonment, followed by six years of supervised release.  On April 21, 2008, BELTRAN pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, cocaine base (“crack cocaine”).

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, on May 11, 2007, BELTRAN sold a quantity of crack cocaine in Waterbury to an individual cooperating with federal law enforcement.

The federal sentence imposed today is to run concurrent with a 12-year sentence that BELTRAN received in the Connecticut Superior Court in May 2008 in connection with a state conviction for assault in the first degree.

REYDE REYES, 30, was sentenced by United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 27 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.  On January 30, 2008, REYES pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, on July 30 and July 31, 2007, REYES sold two firearms – a Raven Arms model P-25, .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a Taurus International .38 Special revolver –  to another individual.  REYES had previously been convicted of two felony offenses.

On May 1, 2008, REYES was sentenced in Connecticut Superior Court to seven years of incarceration as a result of an unrelated conviction for possession with intent to distribute narcotics.  Judge Underhill ordered that the federal sentence imposed today is to run concurrent to the state sentence.

REYES, who is a citizen of the Dominican Republic, also faces possible deportation as a result of his conviction.

This matter stems from “Operation Royal Flush,” an investigation into the Latin Kings in Waterbury spearheaded by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in conjunction with the Waterbury Police Department’s Gang Task Force and the Connecticut Department of Correction.  The investigation, which commenced in January 2007, included the controlled purchases of firearms and illegal narcotics from more than 50 suspected members of the Latin Kings.  Eighteen individuals, including BELTRAN and REYES, were arrested and charged with various federal drug trafficking and weapons violations.  Approximately 70 individuals are being prosecuted on state charges stemming from the investigation.

This investigation was funded in significant part through the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and gang initiatives.

This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys S. Dave Vatti, Robert M. Spector and Edward Kang.

CONTACT:

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