Guilty Plea Entered In Fentanyl Case With West Hartford Ties

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A plea has been entered in a fentanyl case with ties to West Hatford.

Leonard C. Boyle, acting United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that 35-year-old East Hartford resident William Palmero, also known as "Willy," entered a guilty plea Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of acetylfentanyl, a fentanyl analogue.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2018, law enforcement officials received information that Valerio was trafficking kilogram-quantities of fentanyl and was using his Hartford auto-repair business to launder drug proceeds.

On July 12, 2018, a court-authorized search of a West Hartford apartment that Valerio rented revealed approximately 6 kilograms of acetylfentanyl, items used to process and package narcotics, and approximately $49,000 in cash, case records show.

Judge Thompson scheduled sentencing for Sept. 28.

Valerio has been detained since his arrest on July 12, 2018.