'Violent New Haven Drug Trafficker' Gets 13 Year Prison Bid: Feds

NEW HAVEN, CT — Michael Smith, 36, of New Haven was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 13 years in prison for narcotics trafficking, gun possession and money laundering offenses, according to the Justice Department. He will also have four years of supervised release following his incarceration.

According to Vanessa Roberts Avery, US Attorney for Connecticut, court documents and statements made in court, in 2019, the DEA New Haven Task Force began an investigation into a New Haven-based drug trafficking network headed by Smith. The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps, revealed that Smith and his associates were distributing heroin and crack cocaine throughout the New Haven area, Avery said.

Smith’s girlfriend, Keilah Boria, maintained bank accounts that Smith used to launder the cash proceeds of his drug trafficking activity, federal prosecutors said. From 2016 to 2019, Boria deposited more than $200,000 in cash into the bank accounts and rented cars Smith used to conduct his drug trafficking activity, the US Attorney said.

In December 2019, Smith was intercepted on a wiretap describing having shot at a rival drug dealer, Avery said. New Haven Police collected 31 shell casings from a location in the Fair Haven neighborhood where the shooting occurred, per prosecutors. He was arrested Dec. 23, 2019 and has been held since.

In April 2021, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin and crack, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a narcotics trafficking offense, and conspiracy to launder the proceeds of a specified unlawful activity, Justice said.

Boria pleaded guilty to related charges and in 2021, was sentenced to nine months of imprisonment, per Avery.

This investigation has been conducted by the DEA New Haven Task Force, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the New Haven, West Haven, Hamden, East Haven, North Haven, Ansonia, Meriden and Derby Police Departments.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Pierpont, Jr. and Elena L. Coronado 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.