Drug dealer receives 37 month sentence
A Florida man who authorities said supplied more than 200 pounds of marijuana to a large-scale drug ring operating in Greater Danbury was sentenced Wednesday to 37 months in prison.
Richard Sciacchetano, 63, one of four men indicted in February 2011, was sentenced by Judge Vanessa Bryant at U.S. District Court in Hartford.
Sciacchetano pleaded guilty in January to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 100 kilograms of marijuana.
While acknowledging Wednesday that Sciacchetano, who has prior convictions for drug trafficking in the 1970s, knew the dangers that drug abuse pose to the community, Bryant said he "chose to disseminate this poison in the hundreds of pounds not in his neighborhood -- he loves his family -- but in the neighborhood of others for his own financial gain."
Sciacchetano, who a prosecutor said has ties to the Bonanno crime family, spoke in his own defense Wednesday. He said he returned to selling marijuana in 2007 after suffering a major heart attack and being saddled with $125,000 in medical bills.
"The American dream became the American nightmare," said Sciacchetano, who, according to his attorney, has cardiac problems and needs a hip replacement.
In the months before his arrest, Sciacchetano delivered more than 200 pounds of marijuana to Brookfield resident Glenn Wagner, according to a sentencing memorandum filed by the prosecutor's office.
In courtroom testimony Wednesday, Sciacchetano said he blamed himself for his mistakes.
"I take 100 percent of the responsibility for my actions," he said in court, adding that after his arrest he immediately turned over to authorities his laptop and the cellphones he used as part of the drug enterprise.
A federal prosecutor has said Sciacchetano has a prior conviction on a drug trafficking charge for moving more than 54,000 pounds of marijuana.
Because of prior convictions, Sciacchetano could have faced as many as 10 years in prison, but the government agreed to reduce his sentence because of the age of the prior convictions and the cooperation he gave authorities in the case.
Bryant asked the prosecutor whether Sciacchetano provided the government with information about his marijuana suppliers.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Vizcarrondo said, "The government is satisfied that he (Sciacchetano) fully disclosed his involvement in this."
The prosecutor added, "This investigation as related to unindicted co-conspirators is ongoing."
Bryant took 16 months off Sciacchetano's sentence for the time he served in jail while the case was pending. She added that a drug treatment program Sciacchetano plans on applying for would shave another year off his sentence.
Wagner, 49, who pleaded guilty in March to a conspiracy charge, is expected to appear in court for sentencing on July 17.
Bethel resident Mark Mansa, 47, pleaded guilty in December to a conspiracy to distribute marijuana charge and was sentenced on June 1 to 46 months in prison. He is expected to begin his sentence on July 1.
Kevin Lubic, 49, of South Salem, N.Y., the fourth man named in a federal indictment, is scheduled to go to trial in December.
Richard Sciacchetano, 63, one of four men indicted in February 2011, was sentenced by Judge Vanessa Bryant at U.S. District Court in Hartford.
Sciacchetano pleaded guilty in January to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 100 kilograms of marijuana.
While acknowledging Wednesday that Sciacchetano, who has prior convictions for drug trafficking in the 1970s, knew the dangers that drug abuse pose to the community, Bryant said he "chose to disseminate this poison in the hundreds of pounds not in his neighborhood -- he loves his family -- but in the neighborhood of others for his own financial gain."
Sciacchetano, who a prosecutor said has ties to the Bonanno crime family, spoke in his own defense Wednesday. He said he returned to selling marijuana in 2007 after suffering a major heart attack and being saddled with $125,000 in medical bills.
"The American dream became the American nightmare," said Sciacchetano, who, according to his attorney, has cardiac problems and needs a hip replacement.
In the months before his arrest, Sciacchetano delivered more than 200 pounds of marijuana to Brookfield resident Glenn Wagner, according to a sentencing memorandum filed by the prosecutor's office.
In courtroom testimony Wednesday, Sciacchetano said he blamed himself for his mistakes.
"I take 100 percent of the responsibility for my actions," he said in court, adding that after his arrest he immediately turned over to authorities his laptop and the cellphones he used as part of the drug enterprise.
A federal prosecutor has said Sciacchetano has a prior conviction on a drug trafficking charge for moving more than 54,000 pounds of marijuana.
Because of prior convictions, Sciacchetano could have faced as many as 10 years in prison, but the government agreed to reduce his sentence because of the age of the prior convictions and the cooperation he gave authorities in the case.
Bryant asked the prosecutor whether Sciacchetano provided the government with information about his marijuana suppliers.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Vizcarrondo said, "The government is satisfied that he (Sciacchetano) fully disclosed his involvement in this."
The prosecutor added, "This investigation as related to unindicted co-conspirators is ongoing."
Bryant took 16 months off Sciacchetano's sentence for the time he served in jail while the case was pending. She added that a drug treatment program Sciacchetano plans on applying for would shave another year off his sentence.
Wagner, 49, who pleaded guilty in March to a conspiracy charge, is expected to appear in court for sentencing on July 17.
Bethel resident Mark Mansa, 47, pleaded guilty in December to a conspiracy to distribute marijuana charge and was sentenced on June 1 to 46 months in prison. He is expected to begin his sentence on July 1.
Kevin Lubic, 49, of South Salem, N.Y., the fourth man named in a federal indictment, is scheduled to go to trial in December.
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