Norwalk Man Sentenced to 70 Months for Oxycodone Sales

No more Mercedes. No more $103,000 in cash. No more business selling hundreds of OxyContin pills.

A Norwalk man was sentenced in federal court Monday to five years in prison for illegally selling prescription narcotics.

Domenico Sandalo, also known as "Dominick," of Mohackemo Drive in Norwalk, was arrested on Jan. 27, 2010 after undercover law enforcement officers bought OxyContin pills from him several times between October 2009 and January 2010.

The officers paid $40 to $45 for each 80-milligram pill, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in New Haven.

When police raided his home that January, they found 731 OxyContin pills and 683 Percocet pills (both of which contain oxycodone, a regulated narcotic), 190 hydrocodone pills and about six kilograms of marijuana in vacuum-sealed packages.

They also found $103,028 in cash and seized Sandalo's 2006 Mercedes CLS500 car.

On Feb. 1, to one count of possession with intent to distribute oxycodone. In addition to the five years in prison, Sandalo was sentenced in New Haven by U.S. District Judge Mark R. Kravitz to three years of probation.

Norwalk Police worked with U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officers in the investigation.

"Prescription drug abuse, expecially among youth, is a fast-growing problem,"  David B. Fein, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, said in a news release from his office. "I want to commend the DEA and Norwalk Police for their thorough investigation in this matter."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Chen prosecuted the case in U.S. District Court in New Haven, with assistance from Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Suzanne Vieux in state Superior Court in Norwalk.