David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the FBI, announced that MATTHEW CRUZ, 36, of West Hartford, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to narcotics distribution and firearm possession offenses.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in February and March 2025, members of the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force made a series of controlled purchases of narcotics from Cruz. On March 27, 2025, a court-authorized search of Cruz’s residence on Newington Road in West Hartford revealed thousands of bags of packaged fentanyl and loose fentanyl totaling more than 600 grams, approximately 184 grams of heroin, quantities of cocaine and crack, drug processing and packaging materials, six firearms, ammunition, gun magazines, and nearly $14,000 in cash.
Cruz’s criminal history includes multiple felony convictions for state drug offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Cruz pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 100 grams or more of heroin, and other controlled substances, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. At sentencing, which is scheduled for October 29, Cruz faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.
Cruz has been detained since his arrest.
This investigation has been conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and the Hartford and West Hartford Police Departments. The Task Force includes members from the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, and the East Hartford, Hartford, New Britain, West Hartford, Wethersfield, and Newington Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Reed Durham.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Connecticut — U.S. Department of Justice press release.