Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that FRANCISCO FRANCESCHINI, 28, last residing in East Hartford, pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to firearm possession and drug distribution offenses.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 8, 2021, a court-authorized search of Franceschini’s East Hartford residence revealed a loaded 9mm handgun, a loaded .380 caliber handgun, and approximately 44 grams of crack cocaine.
Franceschini’s criminal history includes multiple state convictions for firearm and narcotics offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Franceschini pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (“crack”), which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. He has been detained since his federal arrest on September 23, 2021.
This investigation has been conducted by the FBI’s Connecticut Violent Crime Task Force and the Hartford Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.