Man Linked to Eastern Connecticut Drug Ring Gets Prison Time

WINDHAM, CT — A New York City man who is accused of being a player in an Eastern Connecticut drug ring connected with several overdoses has been sentenced to more than six years in a federal prison, a leading prosecutor said on Tuesday.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that Jose Miranda, 52, who goes by the street name of “Omar,” of The Bronx, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to 74 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for trafficking heroin and cocaine.

Judge Bolden also ordered Miranda to pay a $5,000 fine, Daly said.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in October 2015, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Willimantic police and Connecticut state police initiated an investigation into a Willimantic-based narcotics trafficking ring after several overdoses in the region.

The investigation, which included the use of confidential informants, physical surveillance, controlled purchases of drugs and court authorized wiretaps on five cellular telephones utilized by the co-conspirators, revealed that Miranda was supplying large quantities of heroin and cocaine to individuals in eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island, including Carlos Alberto Lopez-Zelada, of Willimantic, and Persio Hernandez, of North Windham, Daly said.

In Connecticut, Lopez-Zelada converted a portion of the cocaine he received into crack cocaine. Lopez-Zelada, Hernandez and other co-conspirators then distributed heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine in eastern Connecticut, Daly said.

Miranda was arrested on June 23, 2016, after he was intercepted threatening to shoot a co-conspirator who refused to pay him for a quantity of heroin that Miranda had provided to the individual on consignment, Daly said.

Miranda disclosed on a wiretap intercept that he had been involved in drug trafficking for “25 years,” Daly said.

Miranda has been detained since his arrest. On Dec. 9, 2016, he entered a plea of guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine, Daly said.

Lopez-Zelada and Hernandez were arrested on July 6, 2016, and subsequently pleaded guilty to related charges. They are detained while awaiting sentencing, Daly said.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock