The president of a Connecticut motorcycle club was handed a six-year federal prison sentence on Tuesday for his role in a drug trafficking ring involving fentanyl and cocaine, federal officials said.
Joshua Roman, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 72 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Roman pleaded guilty on May 5 to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
According to court records, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force began investigating a large-scale drug trafficking organization that was distributing fentanyl and cocaine throughout Connecticut in July 2022.
The investigation included “court-authorized wiretaps, physical and electronic surveillance, controlled purchases of narcotics, and other investigative techniques,” court records show.
Investigators learned that Roman, the president of the Loose Cannonz motorcycle club, was reportedly attempting to broker transactions of “kilogram quantities” of fentanyl and carfentanil, according to court records.
The investigation also revealed that Roman and his associates were receiving shipments of fentanyl and cocaine to distribute in the Hartford area, court records show.
Investigators reportedly made a controlled purchase of approximately 100 grams of fentanyl from Roman on May 18, 2023, according to court records. On June 7, 2023, Roman was arrested at his Hartford residence, where investigators reportedly seized 50 grams of fentanyl. That same day, a search of the Loose Cannonz clubhouse in East Hartford reportedly turned up an additional 50 grams of fentanyl, court records show.
Roman, who is free on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on Oct. 22, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
