David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, has announced that Robert Amatruda, also known as “Bubba” and “Spanky,” aged 41 from Waterbury, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison. The sentencing was delivered by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford. Following his imprisonment, Amatruda will undergo four years of supervised release for his involvement in cocaine trafficking.
The case originates from an investigation led by the DEA New Haven Task Force and the Waterbury Police Department into drug trafficking activities in and around Waterbury. This investigation involved court-authorized wiretaps on several phones, physical surveillance, controlled narcotics purchases, and vehicle stops that led to drug and cash seizures. The operation uncovered that Jose Duprey, also known as “Red” and “Colorado,” was distributing kilogram quantities of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. Duprey used his workplace to supply drugs to other distributors and stored narcotics at his girlfriend’s business on Straits Turnpike in Middlebury.
Amatruda was intercepted multiple times during the wiretap speaking with Duprey about arranging narcotics transactions. He purchased cocaine from Duprey for redistribution and occasionally supplied him with cocaine.
On May 25, 2022, Amatruda, Duprey, and twelve others were arrested following a search of Duprey’s residence in Waterbury and stash location in Middlebury which uncovered approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine, two kilograms each of heroin and fentanyl, along with over $107,000 in cash.
Amatruda pleaded guilty on July 31, 2023, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Meanwhile, Duprey pleaded guilty to related charges and received a sentence of 141 months on March 26, 2024. His sentence includes time for violating conditions from a prior federal narcotics conviction.
The investigation involved collaboration between various agencies including DEA offices across Connecticut, New York and New Jersey; FBI; Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Connecticut State Police; Connecticut Department of Correction; Connecticut State Parole; as well as police departments from Naugatuck, Ansonia, West Haven Meriden and East Haven.
U.S Attorney Sullivan expressed gratitude towards the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s Office for their cooperation throughout this case’s investigation and prosecution.
Assistant U.S Attorneys Brendan J Keefe and Nathaniel J Gentile are prosecuting this case through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.
For more information about OCDETF Program visit: https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF
