STAMFORD, CT — A Stamford man was sentenced Monday to nearly four years in federal prison for trafficking drugs in southwestern Conneticut, according to federal prosecutors.
Eric Riettie, also known as "Gambino," 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michal P. Shea in Hartford to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2022, the FBI Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force, which was investigating gang activity in the South End and West Side of Bridgeport, identified Christian Pichardo as a supplier of various drugs to gang members and other drug distributors.
During the investigation, investigators intercepted calls and text messages over court-authorized wiretaps between Pichardo and his associates, made controlled purchases of narcotics, and seized drugs from members of the conspiracy and their drug customers, David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, said in a news release.
Some of the drugs seized during the investigation had been cut with fentanyl analogues, nitazines, and xylazine, Sullivan said.
Nitazines are synthetic opioids stronger than fentanyl, and xylazine is a large animal tranquilizer.
Pichardo supplied fentanyl and crack cocaine to Riettie, which Riettie then sold to his own customers, Sullivan said, noting Riettie sometimes supplied "distribution quantities" of pills to Pichardo.
Riettie was arrested on Aug. 6, 2024, and he pleaded guilty on Nov. 19, 2025, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
Riettie, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on Sept. 4.
Pichardo pleaded guilty to a related charge and, on July 14, 2025, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
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