According to a press release issued by David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, four individuals involved in a New Haven-area oxycodone trafficking were sentenced this week by United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport.
This matter stems from “Operation Big Blue,” a year-long investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Task Force into a New Haven-area oxycodone trafficking operation headed by Michael Marchitto, Jr., of Hamden. The investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, physical surveillance, and controlled purchases and seizures of oxycodone.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Marchitto and his associates were involved in the distribution of substantial quantities of oxycodone in and around New Haven. Marchitto and others regularly traveled, at Marchitto’s expense, to Florida where they obtained prescriptions for large amounts of oxycodone at unscrupulous pain clinics, commonly referred to as “pill mills.”
Marchitto also arranged to have three Florida residents ship bulk quantities of oxycodone to him on a regular basis. Marchitto sold most of the pills that he and his associates were able to acquire to an established network of redistributors in Connecticut.
On October 9, 2012, Kristina Gargano, 25, of East Haven, was sentenced to four years of probation, the first six months of which she must serve in home confinement under electronic monitoring. Gargano was a street-level distributor of oxycodone.
On Thursday, Amber Fischer, 28, of Meriden was sentenced to three months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release. Fischer was one of the most active street-level distributors of oxycodone affiliated with the Marchitto organization. Intercepted communications revealed that she sometimes obtained multiple shipments of oxycodone pills per day from Marchitto Jr.
On Thursday, Marchitto’s parents, Michael Marchitto, Sr., 53, and Brenda Marchitto, 51, both of Hamden, were each sentenced to 39 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release. The investigation revealed that the couple regularly traveled to Florida with Michael Marchitto, Jr., at Marchitto Jr.’s expense, and fraudulently obtained prescriptions for large amounts of oxycodone from the pill mills. Marchitto Jr. allowed his parents to keep some of the pills they acquired for their own use, and purchased the remainder from them, which he then distributed for profit. The couple also stored bulk quantities of oxycodone pills at their residence for Marchitto, Jr.
Each of the four defendants previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone.
Sixteen individuals were charged as a result of this investigation, and all have pleaded guilty. Marchitto Jr. awaits sentencing.
This matter has been investigated by the DEA New Haven Task Force, including personnel from the New Haven, West Haven, Ansonia, Meriden, Hamden, Branford, and Wallingford Police Departments, and the United States Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick Caruso and Douglas Morabito.
