Source: United States Attorneys General
Headline: Citizen of El Salvador Sentenced to 42 Months for Trafficking Cocaine
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MIGUEL LARA, 47, a citizen of El Salvador last residing in Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 42 months of imprisonment for trafficking cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in September 2016, the DEA’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force began an investigation into the cocaine trafficking activities of Christian Paulino Rodriguez. The investigation revealed that Rodriguez’s cocaine supplier was LARA, the co-owner of Café Luna, a restaurant in Stamford. In November 2016, an individual working with law enforcement arranged to purchase five kilograms of cocaine from Rodriguez for a price of $28,000 per kilogram. On November 15, 2016, Task Force officers arrested LARA and Rodriguez after LARA delivered the cocaine to a prearranged location.
LARA has been detained since his arrest. On November 27, 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 500 grams or more of cocaine.
Rodriguez, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty to the same charge on July 18, 2017. On November 21, he was sentenced to 42 months imprisonment.
LARA and Rodriguez face immigration proceedings when they are released from prison.
This matter was investigated by the DEA’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and the Stamford and Norwalk Police Departments. The case was prosecuted Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Vizcarrondo.