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03/02/2017 11:00 PMDeirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Bernardo Roman-Rolan, also known as "Benny," 41, of North Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 68 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in the fall of 2015, the DEA New Haven Task Force initiated an investigation into a cocaine trafficking organization headed by Halby "Harv" Lopez. Omar Polanco-Mendez and Roman-Rolan were the second and third in command, respectively. The investigation revealed that Lopez, Polanco-Mendez and Roman-Rolan were obtaining bulk quantities of cocaine from multiple suppliers and redistributing the cocaine to a network of New Haven-area street-level dealers. The investigation included court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of drugs and the seizure of multiple kilograms of cocaine.
Investigators intercepted numerous conversations in which Roman-Rolan discussed the distribution of cocaine. Intercepted calls also revealed that, in January 2016, Roman-Rolan received two shipments of cocaine on behalf of Lopez and Polanco-Mendez.
On March 24, 2016, a grand jury in New Haven returned a 13-count indictment charging Roman-Rolan, Lopez, Polanco-Mendez and seven other individuals with various narcotics offenses. All of the defendants pleaded guilty.
Roman-Rolan has been detained since his arrest on March 11, 2016. On October 7, 2016, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute between 500 grams and two kilograms of cocaine.
Roman-Rolan's criminal history includes convictions for drug trafficking and manslaughter.
On February 24, 2017, Polanco-Mendez was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment. Lopez awaits sentencing.
The DEA New Haven Task Force includes participants from the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, East Haven, Branford, Ansonia, Meriden and Derby Police Departments, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Caruso and Jennifer Laraia.