Stamford Man Sentenced to 46 Months for Southwestern Connecticut Narcotics Trafficking

Eric Riettie, also known as “Gambino” and “Lil E,” 27, of Stamford, was sentenced June 1 to 46 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford for his involvement in a southwestern Connecticut narcotics trafficking ring.

The sentence, handed down in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, includes three years of supervised release following imprisonment. Riettie is one of multiple defendants charged in the ring that distributed narcotics across southwestern Connecticut communities.

The sentencing marks the conclusion of Riettie’s case after he pleaded guilty to federal narcotics trafficking charges. Prior to sentencing he remained in custody or under supervision; the new judgment requires him to report to the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving the 46-month term immediately.

Downstream, the Bureau of Prisons must designate Riettie to a facility within the next several weeks under standard classification procedures. Upon release he will enter three years of supervised release, during which the U.S. Probation Office will enforce conditions that typically include drug testing, restrictions on travel, and prohibitions on further criminal activity.

The case is part of a broader federal enforcement effort targeting street-level and mid-level narcotics distribution networks that supply fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and other substances in Fairfield and New Haven counties.

This sentencing is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions of southwestern Connecticut trafficking organizations. The Department of Justice has pursued similar cases in the District of Connecticut for more than a decade, often charging defendants under 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846 for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

The June 1 judgment follows earlier pleas and sentencings of co-defendants in the same ring.