Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that TAHIR BRUFF, also known as “Gangster” and “G,” 46, of Hartford, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 65 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing narcotics.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2018, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force began investigating Ricardo Reyes, also known as “Rick the Ruler,” a member of the Los Solidos street gang who was distributing fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and crack in the area of Park Street and Hungerford Street in Hartford. During the investigation, law enforcement conducted multiple controlled purchases of narcotics from Ricardo Reyes. Court-authorized wiretaps confirmed that he was distributing narcotics to numerous customers, and identified individuals who supplied drugs to him, including Bruff, as well as associates who sold drugs on his behalf. Intercepted communications also revealed that Ricardo Reyes was acquiring and trafficking firearms.
Bruff, a member of Los Solidos and a close associate of Reyes, supplied cocaine and crack to Reyes for both his personal use and distribution. Bruff also sold narcotics to other customers in the area of Hungerford Street.
Bruff has been detained since his arrest on June 17, 2019.
On June 27, 2019, a grand jury Hartford returned a 32-count indictment charging Bruff, Reyes, and 13 associates with various narcotics trafficking and firearm possession offenses. Bruff pleaded guilty on March 29, 2022.
All of Bruff’s co-defendants pleaded guilty to related charges, and Bruff is the last to be sentenced.
On February 11, 2021, Reyes was sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment.
The FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, New Britain Police Department, West Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction. The Hartford Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Division provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.