West Hartford Man Sentenced For Distributing Heroin: Feds

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A West Hartford man has been sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison for distributing heroin. Samuel Cortes, 28, of West Hartford, was sentenced Wednesday to 34 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing heroin, U.S. States Attorney Deirdre M. Daly announced in a press release.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2014, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force received information that David Alvarado, also known as “Flaco,” was distributing heroin to street-level dealers and drug customers in the vicinity of his residence on Wethersfield Avenue in Hartford. (To sign up for West Hartford breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

Between August 2014 and May 2015, investigators made eight controlled purchases of heroin from Alvarado. A wiretap investigation revealed that Alvarado was being supplied with heroin by Cortes and other individuals, according to Daly.

“On May 26, 2015, investigators conducted a court-authorized search of Alvarado’s residence and seized raw heroin, bagged heroin, heroin stamps, digital scales, thousands of wax folds, and other items used to process and package heroin,” Daly wrote in the press release. “Investigators also seized a 9mm Beretta pistol with a loaded magazine, and numerous rounds of ammunition.”

Cortes has been detained since his arrest on November 30, 2016. On May 8, 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin.

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