Hartford Man Sentenced In Fentanyl Distribution Case

HARTFORD, CT — A city man was sentenced to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for distributing fentanyl, according to a statement from federal prosecutors.

Noel Cortes, 55, was arrested in connection with an investigation into the Latin Kings of Hartford's South End. The investigation by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force and Hartford Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Division included court-authorized wiretaps, physical surveillance and controlled purchases of narcotics.

This revealed that two alleged members of the Latin Kings operated separate drug trafficking organizations that distributed fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine. The organizations used multiple locations to process, package, store and distribute narcotics, and possessed firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking activities, according to a statement from prosecutors.

In May and June 2015, investigators completed several controlled purchases of fentanyl from Richard Colon, aka "Droopy." Cortes delivered 200 bags of fentanyl on behalf of Colon to complete one of the transactions.

He has been detained since his arrest in July of last year. Cortes pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, fentanyl.

His criminal history dates to 1985 and includes convictions for robbery, assault, narcotics and firearms offenses, according to the statement.