Hartford Apartment Manager Sentenced to Prison for Allowing Building to be Used by Drug Ring

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that FRANKLYN NIEVES, 63, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 28 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for allowing a Hartford apartment building he managed to be used as a drug trafficking hub.

According to court documents and statements made in court, a drug trafficking organization used 8-10 Hamilton Street, a six-unit apartment building in Hartford, to store, process and distribute heroin and fentanyl.  Nieves, who managed the building and resided in one of the apartments, was aware of the drug trafficking activity at the building, helped to secure the basement of the building for the trafficking organization’s drug activities, and knew that a 17-year-old was working for the organization and serving drug customers at the building.

Nieves was arrested on December 7, 2017.  On May 14, 2018, he pleaded guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises.

Nieves, who is released on a $50,000 bond, was ordered to report to prison on January 16, 2019.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force and the Hartford Police Department.  The Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming.