Wednesday, April 07, 2021

East Hartford Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Federal Prison for Drug Trafficking and Firearm Offenses

 Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JIMMY FLORES, also known as “Cuz-o,” 37, of East Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 136 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for drug trafficking and firearm possession offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Gang Task Force and Hartford Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Division into the trafficking of narcotics and associated violence in Hartford’s South End by members and associates of the Almighty Latin Kings Nation (“Latin Kings”).  The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps, physical surveillance and controlled purchases of narcotics, revealed that that Flores and Nelson Ferry operated separate drug trafficking organizations that distributed fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine.  Both organizations used multiple locations to process, package, store and distribute narcotics, and possessed firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking activities.

Flores’ organization primarily sold narcotics in the area of Hungerford Street and Park Street, and he used both his East Hartford residence and an apartment on Broad Street in Hartford to store and sell drugs.  He also used firearms and acts of violence to further his drug operation.

Flores was arrested on June 19, 2018.  On that date, investigators seized a handgun and various controlled substances that Flores stored at a family member’s residence in East Hartford, and a second handgun found at a barber shop Flores owned in Hartford.

Flores has been detained since his arrest.  On March 12, 2020, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 28 grams or more of cocaine base (“crack”), and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

Ferry pleaded guilty to related charges and, on February 26, 2020, was sentenced to 87 months of imprisonment.

This matter has been investigated by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang 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 Hartford Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Division and Shooting Task Force have provided valuable assistance to the investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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