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Luis Martinez, also known as “Macho,” 55, of Stratford, was sentenced Tuesday, Jan. 26, to prison time, followed by three years of supervised release, said John Durham, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in the summer of 2017, members of the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and Bridgeport Police Department began investigating individuals who were distributing narcotics in and around Bridgeport.
The investigation, which included the use of court-authorized wiretaps and controlled purchases of narcotics, resulted in federal charges against 19 defendants and the seizure of narcotics, items used to process and package drugs for street sale, eight firearms, and more than $360,000 in cash.
The investigation revealed that Martinez was supplying another narcotics distributor with cocaine and opioid pills.
An investigation of an unrelated drug distributor revealed that Martinez was also acquiring and distributing heroin.
Martinez was arrested on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. On that date, investigators searched Martinez’s residence and seized boxes of .45 caliber hollow-point ammunition and $11,132 in cash.
Martinez has been detained since his arrest. In 2019, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, and one count of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.
Martinez’s criminal history includes state convictions for manslaughter, assault, weapons and larceny offenses, and a federal conviction stemming from his role in a crack cocaine distribution ring.
Martinez was also ordered to forfeit the cash and ammunition seized on the date of his arrest. He had previously forfeited more than $56,000 in cash that he had shipped to a drug supplier in California but was seized by law enforcement at a parcel delivery hub.
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