Roman Santiago Jr., 42, of Danbury, pleaded guilty on April 16 before U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to a cocaine trafficking offense, according to an announcement by David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Santiago admitted to participating in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy from September 2024 to February 2025 that involved shipping cocaine from Puerto Rico to Connecticut using the U.S. Mail. Authorities intercepted several packages mailed from Puerto Rico addressed to locations in Connecticut, each containing about two kilograms of cocaine intended for Santiago.
He was arrested on February 12, 2025. During his arrest, law enforcement searched his residence and found a package of cocaine sent from Puerto Rico along with additional quantities of cocaine and fentanyl. In total, investigators seized more than eleven kilograms of cocaine during the investigation.
Santiago pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. This charge carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of ten years and a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment. He is currently released on a $50,000 bond while awaiting sentencing scheduled for July 23.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force with members including federal postal inspectors as well as state and local police departments. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan Guevremont and Christopher Lembo.
The office overseeing this prosecution serves all of Connecticut and operates under the Department of Justice according to its official website. It prosecutes federal crimes and manages civil cases for the United States within the district according to its official website. The office employs about sixty-eight assistant attorneys alongside fifty-seven support staff members according to its official website across locations in New Haven, Hartford, and Bridgeport; it has operated since its establishment in 1789 according to its official website.
The office also advances justice initiatives aimed at improving quality of life for residents according to its official website, while producing alumni who have become judges or elected officials according to its official website.