Dominican National Gets Nearly 6 Years In Connecticut Fentanyl Case

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A Dominican national has been given a stiff federal sentence in a Connecticut Fentanyl Trafficking case that included a raid on a West Hartford residence.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that 37-year-old William Valerio-Palermo, who also goes by the street name of "Willy," a citizen of the Dominican Republic last residing in East Hartford, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 70 months on prison for trafficking acetylfentanyl, a fentanyl analogue.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2018, law enforcement operatives received information that Valerio was trafficking kilogram-quantities of fentanyl and was using his Hartford auto-repair business to launder drug proceeds. On July 12, 2018, a court-authorized search of a West Hartford apartment that Valerio rented revealed approximately 6 kilograms of acetylfentanyl, items used to process and package narcotics, and approximately $49,000 in cash, case records show.

Valerio has been detained since his arrest on July 12, 2018. He pleaded guilty on July 6, 2021.

Valerio faces immigration proceedings when he completes his prison term.