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Orlando “Bolo” Martinez, 52, of Watertown, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release after pleading guilty in February to conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and fentanyl.
U.S. Attorney John Durham said that an investigation by the DEA’s New Haven Task Force and the Waterbury Police Department revealed that Nestor Sosa-Ortiz operated a Waterbury-based drug trafficking organization that received large quantities of heroin and fentanyl from suppliers in Connecticut and New York. They then distributed the drugs throughout New Haven County.
Durham said that the organization used an apartment located on Bishop Street in Waterbury to store kilogram-quantities of heroin and fentanyl, and to process and package the drugs for street sale.
When Sosa-Ortiz was arrested in New York City on a separate federal heroin and fentanyl trafficking charge in May 2019, he continued to control his drug network while incarcerated by using smuggled cell phones to communicate with various co-conspirators, Durham said.
As part of the investigation, it was determined that Martinez bought bulk quantities of heroin and fentanyl from a member of the drug ring who distributed narcotics from the Corner Mini market on East Farm Road in Waterbury.
Martinez then sold the drugs to his own customer base. Martinez was one of 16 people charged for their roles in the drug trafficking ring.
The investigation led to the seizure of approximately six kilograms of suspected heroin/fentanyl, approximately 100,000 bags of suspected heroin/fentanyl packaged for street distribution, approximately 1,000 fentanyl pills disguised as Percocet pills, one firearm and approximately $50,000 in cash.
Durham said that Martinez has been in custody since his arrest in October last year before he pleaded guilty to the charges in February this year. The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that Martinez’s criminal history includes five convictions for narcotics offenses, and he was on special parole with the state at the time of his federal arrest.
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