Crime & Safety
North Haven Man Sentenced For Trafficking Cocaine: Feds
Authorities say the man was one of the leaders of an organization that distributed cocaine to a network of New Haven-area drug dealers.
NORTH HAVEN, CT — A North Haven man was sentenced to 68 months in federal prison for trafficking cocaine, according to authorities.
Bernardo Roman-Rolan, 41, who is also known as “Benny,” was also sentenced Thursday to four years of supervised release following the prison term, U.S. States Attorney Deirdre M. Daly announced in a press release.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in the fall of 2015, the DEA New Haven Task Force initiated an investigation into a cocaine trafficking organization headed by Halby “Harv” Lopez. Omar Polanco-Mendez and Roman-Rolan were the second and third in command, respectively, according to authorities.
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The investigation revealed that Lopez, Polanco-Mendez and Roman-Rolan were obtaining bulk quantities of cocaine from multiple suppliers and redistributing the cocaine to a network of New Haven-area street-level dealers.
The investigation included court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of drugs and the seizure of multiple kilograms of cocaine, according to Daly.
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Investigators intercepted numerous conversations in which Roman-Rolan discussed the distribution of cocaine. Intercepted calls also revealed that, in January 2016, Roman-Rolan received two shipments of cocaine on behalf of Lopez and Polanco-Mendez.
On March 24, 2016, a grand jury in New Haven returned a 13-count indictment charging Roman-Rolan, Lopez, Polanco-Mendez and seven other individuals with various narcotics offenses. All of the defendants pleaded guilty.
Roman-Rolan has been detained since his arrest on March 11, 2016. On October 7, 2016, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute between 500 grams and two kilograms of cocaine.
Roman-Rolan’s criminal history includes convictions for drug trafficking and manslaughter, according to Daly.
On Feb. 24, Polanco-Mendez was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment. Lopez awaits sentencing.
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