West Hartford man sentenced to 14 years in prison for cocaine trafficking
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH) — A West Hartford man was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for trafficking cocaine.
According to evidence and testimony, 34-year-old Joseph Giovanni Soto became the focus of an investigation led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force.
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The investigation discovered a cocaine trafficking operation which involved shipping parcels containing large quantities of cocaine from Puerto Rico to numerous drop addresses in New Britain and Meriden in Connecticut as well as West Springfield and Holyoke in Massachusetts.
Runners would then retrieve the packages and deliver them to Soto's residence in Bloomfield and the residence of Soto's uncle, Ramon Soto, in New Britain. Ramon Soto would usually deliver the cocaine to the Bronx, N.Y. and other locations, at Joseph Soto's discretion, for payment.
During the investigation, task force members intercepted and seized 10 suspicious packages, each of which contained about two kilograms of cocaine. They also identified approximately 280 suspicious parcels likely containing kilogram quantities of cocaine that had been delivered to the various drop addresses.
Joseph Soto was arrested on May 1, 2023. On the same day, during a court-authorized search of his residence, investigators seized two loaded firearms, a drum magazine, ammunition, body armor, approximately two kilograms of cocaine, drug packaging material, and approximately $12,000 in cash. One of the seized firearms was fitted with a switch making it fully automatic, and investigators also found a second, uninstalled switch.
A search of Ramon Soto's residence on that date revealed a loaded Ruger handgun, firearm magazines, ammunition, two money counters, a digital scale with cocaine residue, and more than $1,000 in cash.
Joseph Soto pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on Feb. 7, 2025. He was released on a $100,000 bond and is required to report to prison on June 25.
Ramon Soto pleaded guilty to a related charge and, on Jan. 8, 2025, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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