New Haven Narcotics Distributor Sentenced to 46 Months in Federal Prison

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JEFFREY BRAZIER, 50, of Hamden, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 46 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing crack cocaine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from an investigation headed by the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force and New Haven Police Department that targeted drug trafficking and related acts of violence by members, former members and associates of the “Island Brothers” street gang in New Haven.  The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps and controlled purchases of narcotics, also revealed that the drug trafficking organization had established a base of operation in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.  The investigation subsequently identified a second drug trafficking network that involved the large-scale distribution of heroin.

Investigators identified Brazier as a significant distributor of both heroin and crack cocaine.

On July 9, 2019, a grand jury in New Haven returned a 15-count indictment charging Brazier and 24 others with federal narcotics offenses related to the distribution of crack cocaine, cocaine and heroin.

Brazier has been detained since his arrest on July 10, 2019.  On November 12, 2019, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base (“crack”) and heroin.

Brazier’s criminal history spans more than 30 years and includes convictions for narcotics distribution and assault offenses.  At the time of his arrest in this case, he was on parole out of New York for a drug-related offense.

This matter is being investigated by the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force, New Haven Police Department, Milford Police Department, Hamden Police Department, East Haven Police Department, Connecticut State Police, Connecticut Department of Correction and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony E. Kaplan, Peter D. Markle and Elena L. Coronado.