United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

NEW HAVEN CRACK RING PARTICIPANT SENTENCED TO MORE THAN 5 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

Kevin J. O'Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson today sentenced ERNEST WILLIAMS, a/k/a "Solo," age 29, formerly of Clifton Street, New Haven, Connecticut, to 63 months imprisonment, followed by eight years of supervised release, for his involvement in drug trafficking in the Fair Haven section of New Haven. WILLIAMS previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of "crack" cocaine.

WILLIAMS, who has admitted to being a "crack" distributor for the Richard Mack organization, has been incarcerated since his arrest on September 12, 2002.

In an indictment returned in September 2002, a grand jury sitting in Hartford charged WILLIAMS, Mack and 17 other individuals with federal narcotics violations. According to information disclosed during court proceedings and documents filed with the court, the charges arose out of an investigation conducted by the New Haven Drug Task Force. It began as an investigation into the distribution of cocaine base, or "crack," in and around the Fair Haven Section of New Haven. As the investigation progressed, it was disclosed that a New York-based source organization was transporting multi-kilogram quantities of crack on a weekly basis to distribution networks operating in southwestern Connecticut. One of these networks was operated by Mack. During 2001 and 2002, Mack arranged with the New York suppliers about every ten days for delivery of more than one kilogram of "crack" for about $30,000.

Several kilograms of crack and in excess of $350,000 were seized in Connecticut and New York in the course of the investigation.

This case was investigated by the New Haven Drug Task Force, which is composed of elements of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the New Haven and West Haven Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney H. Gordon Hall is prosecuting the case.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov