Man Sentenced After 400 Pounds Of Pot Found At Sikorsky Airport

STRATFORD, CT — An Ansonia man was sentenced Friday for his role in a large-scale marijuana trafficking conspiracy that involved moving hundreds of pounds of drugs through Sikorksy Memorial Airport.

Scott Bodnar, 40, must serve 55 months in prison, plus three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty in May to conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration began investigating a Piper single-engine airplane that was owned by Donald Burns, of Milford, and was regularly flying between Stratford and northern California. In June 2017, Burns flew from California to Sikorsky airport, stopping at several other states along the way. When he landed in Stratford, law enforcement searched the plane and found about 400 pounds of marijuana in vacuum-sealed packaging, the news release said.

Burns was arrested and investigators determined the marijuana was intended for Bodnar, Robert Capelli, Terrell Givens and others to distribute, according to the news release. Bodnar and Capelli were arrested the same day the marijuana was found.

For more than two years, Capelli and his associates earned millions of dollars by trafficking nearly 2 tons of marijuana from California to Connecticut, according to the news release. People involved in the conspiracy also laundered more than $6 million, the news release said.

Burns pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana and agreed to forfeit the airplane, according to the news release. Capelli, of Milford, in July was found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. He was found not guilty of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and money laundering. Capelli has forfeited about $90,000 and additional forfeitures are pending.

Givens, of Beacon Falls, pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, the news release said. He agreed to forfeit his 2009 Jaguar XF and about $8,000 in jewelry. Bodnar also was ordered to forfeit a car, his 2012 Toyota Camry.

Burns, Capelli and Givens await sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by divisions of the FAA and DEA, the Stratford Police Department and six other agencies.