Stonington Woman Avoids Prison Time In Drug Ring Case: Report

STONINGTON, CT — A Stonington resident and former New London restaurant owner has avoided prison time in connection with her role in a large drug trafficking ring, The Day reported. Amy Sarcia, 54, will serve three years probation and pay a $7,500 fine.

Sarcia in part was accused of helping Anthony Whyte, aka "Jack Mac," 47, of New London, in a scheme to sell drugs by giving him a job at her restaurant, 2 Wives Pizza, which served as a cover for him.

Sarcia and Whyte were found guilty in 2021 of one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, various narcotics, and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments (“money laundering”).

According to prosecutors, Whyte obtained heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine from various sources, then distributed to to customers and street-level drug dealers. Sarcia, who both dealt and used cocaine, accepted drug-dealing profits from Whyte and provided him with weekly paychecks from her business, 2 Wives Pizza, and a federal W-2 tax form to disguise the origin of drug money as employment wages.

Sarcia also took cash from Whyte, allowing him to use three apartments in a building she managed so he could store drugs.

Whyte, Sarcia, and several other co-conspirators were arrested Feb. 21, 2019.

In a search of Whyte's New London apartment, law enforcement found about 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, about 185 grams of heroin, about 100 grams of fentanyl and fentanyl pills, 10 guns, and about $25,000 in cash.

Investigators seized additional drugs, another gun, and nearly $200,000 in cash from other members of the scheme, according to prosecutors.

Twenty-three others were charged as a result of this investigation and previously pleaded guilty.

At trial, prosecutors pushed for a 63-to-78-month prison sentence for Sarcia. They said that Whyte, an armed drug dealer selling deadly substances, "could not have committed his crimes without her,” The Day reported.

See related: Stonington Woman Used Business For Drug Money Laundering: Feds