Middletown Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Federal Prison for Role in Hartford Drug Ring

March 30, 2010 - Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JEFFREY KIRK, 46, of Grove Street, Middletown, was sentenced on Thursday, March 25, by Senior United States District Judge Warren W. Eginton in Bridgeport to 37 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a Hartford-area narcotics trafficking ring. On December 17, 2009, KIRK pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin.

This matter stems from “Operation Solid Gold,” a joint law enforcement investigation headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force. The year-long investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of cocaine and heroin, and physical surveillance. As a result of the investigation, 55 individuals were charged with various offenses related to the distribution of cocaine and heroin in and around Hartford.

According to court documents and statements made in court, KIRK was intercepted multiple times over a wiretap engaging in drug-related conversations with another member of the conspiracy. Intercepted calls and physical surveillance revealed that KIRK purchased heroin and cocaine from his co-conspirator for personal use and for distribution to others. The intercepted calls also revealed that KIRK served as a “drug-tester” for his supplier, sampling heroin and then informing his supplier of its quality before the supplier purchased larger quantities.

KIRK was arrested on February 26, 2009. He has been detained in federal custody since December 22, 2009, after he violated the terms of his pre-trial release.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, the Statewide Cooperative Crime Control Task Force of the Connecticut State Police and the Hartford Police Department, with assistance from the Statewide Organized Crime Investigative Task Force of the Connecticut State Police, Connecticut State Police, Troop H, and the Connecticut Department of Correction. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Brian P. Leaming and Geoffrey M. Stone.