NEW LONDON MAN SENTENCED IN CONNECTION WITH DRUG TRAFFICKING RING

A New London man was sentenced Friday to nearly four years in federal prison for his role in a heroin trafficking ring in the region, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut has announced.

Wilfredo “Tony” Lebron, 47, was arrested Dec. 14, 2017, as part of an investigation targeting a string of overdoses that included two deaths in January 2016. He was among 21 people indicted by a Hartford jury in December 2017 on heroin trafficking charges. He pleaded guilty April 27, 2018, to one count of use of a telephone to facilitate the commission of a drug trafficking felony.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea sentenced Lebron to 46 months in prison, followed by a year of supervised release.

According to court documents and statements, an investigation that included controlled drug purchases and court-authorized wiretapping revealed that Michael Luciano, also of New London, operated a drug trafficking organization in southeastern Connecticut. The operation distributed heroin to several dealers on the streets, including Lebron, according to the news release from U.S. Attorney John H. Durham announcing the sentencing Friday. Lebron has five previous felony convictions, the release said.

Luciano was arrested Nov. 14, 2017, and pleaded guilty on June 27, 2018, to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, one kilogram or more of heroin. He was scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 20.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. marshals, the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, Homeland Security Investigations, state police Statewide Narcotics Task Force - East and New London, Norwich and Waterford police, as well as the Attleboro, Mass., and Freetown, Mass., police departments. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Dave Vatti and Jocelyn Courtney Kaoutzanis.