Bridgeport Man Sentenced To Prison In Federal Heroin Trafficking Case

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A 40-year-old Bridgeport man was sentenced to five years in prison this week, followed by four years of supervised release, for his role in a large-scale heroin trafficking ring, announced United States Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery.

Wilfredo Rosado-Rodriguez, also known as "Turtle," 40, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford. Rosado-Rodriguez has been detained since his arrest in October 2021.

According to court documents and statements, Rosado-Rodriguez was a close associate of Ivan Rosario, also known as "Ghost," who headed a Bridgeport-based heroin trafficking organization. Between approximately April 2015 and March 2017, the organization received at least 30 kilograms of heroin that had been transported from Mexico to Bridgeport hidden inside motorcycles equipped with secret compartments. The organization then distributed the drug in the Bridgeport area.

Rosado-Rodriguez's primary role was transporting the organization's cash proceeds to money launderers, according to prosecutors. In October 2015, law enforcement stopped a car Rosado-Rodriguez was driving and seized approximately $120,000 in suspected drug proceeds that he was couriering to New York.

On March 16, 2017, a grand jury in Hartford returned an indictment charging Rosario, Rosado-Rodriguez and five other individuals with heroin trafficking and related offenses. Rosado-Rodriguez was arrested on Oct. 28, 2021, and on Sept. 20, 2022, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.

Separately, Rosario was convicted of a related charge and, on July 18, 2019, Judge Bryant sentenced him to 210 months of imprisonment.

This matter was investigated by the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force, DEA’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, Bridgeport Police Department and Stratford Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert S. Ruff and Natasha M. Freismuth 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.