United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SHELTON, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that ANTHONY SMALL, also known as “Whompy,” 31, of Shelton, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 66 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking narcotics in Bridgeport.

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 included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of narcotics, physical and video surveillance, and the execution of multiple search and seizure warrants.  The investigation revealed that Small’s brother, Antonio Small, led an organization that was distributing large quantities of heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine on the west side of Bridgeport.

Antonio Small, Anthony Small and their associates used a residence on Poplar Street in Bridgeport to store, process and package narcotics.

The group was also involved in violence.  Intercepted calls revealed that Antonio Small kept a firearm at the residence, and that he possessed it while looking to retaliate against someone he believed had wronged him.  On October 31, 2018, a close associate of Antonio Small was shot and killed in the vicinity of the Poplar Street residence.  A female who was close by was also killed during the incident.

In addition, one of the Smalls’ co-conspirators, while in possession of drugs that he intended to distribute, engaged police in a car chase and struck and killed another motorist and maimed two pedestrians.

Anthony Small has been detained since his arrest on January 15, 2019. On January 21, 2020, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with the intent to distribute, controlled substances, and three counts of possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Antonio Small pleaded guilty and, on July 15, 2022, was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment.

Anthony Small also has pending state charges stemming from a shooting in Stratford in January 2019

This matter was investigated by the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and the Bridgeport Police Department, as well as the DEA, Connecticut State Police, and the Stratford, Norwalk, Seymour and Trumbull Police Departments.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen L. Peck and Patrick J. Doherty through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.