United States Drug Enforcement Administration

HARTFORD, Conn. - DEA New England Division Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle and John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Orlando Martinez, also known as “Bolo,” 52, of Watertown, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 70 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for distributing heroin and fentanyl.

According to court documents and statements made in court, an investigation by the DEA 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 and distributed the narcotics throughout New Haven County.  The organization used an apartment located at 330 Bishop Street in Waterbury to store kilogram-quantities of heroin and fentanyl, and to process and package the drugs for street sale.  After Nestor 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.

The investigation revealed that Martinez purchased bulk quantities of heroin and fentanyl from a member of the organization who distributed narcotics from the Corner Mini market at 52 East Farm Road in Waterbury.  Martinez then sold the drugs to his own customer base.

Sixteen individuals were charged as a result of this investigation.

Martinez and several of his codefendants were arrested on October 29, 2019.  In association with the arrests, law enforcement officers executed five search warrants at locations in Waterbury, including the Bishop Street apartment and the Corner Mini Market, and seized 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.

Martinez has been detained since his arrest.  On February 27, 2020, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and fentanyl.  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.

Sosa-Ortiz pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.

This investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration New Haven Task Force and the Waterbury Police Department.  The DEA New Haven Task Force includes participants from the U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, Branford, Ansonia, Meriden, Derby, Middletown, Naugatuck and Waterbury Police Departments.

###