Former Stamford Restaurant Owner Sentenced In Federal Drug Case

STAMFORD, CT — The 47-year-old former co-owner of the Stamford restaurant Café Luna on West Broad Street was sentenced Wednesday to 42 months in prison for trafficking cocaine, announced United States Attorney John H. Durham.

In November 2016, Miguel Lara, a citizen of El Salvador last residing in Bridgeport, was arrested by federal agents after he was caught delivering about $140,000 worth of cocaine in a sting operation orchestrated by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency's Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, according to prosecutors and court documents.

The DEA’s Bridgeport division had began an investigation in September of that year into the cocaine trafficking activities of Christian Paulino Rodriguez.

"The investigation revealed that Rodriguez’s cocaine supplier was Lara, the co-owner of Café Luna, a restaurant in Stamford," according to prosecutors. "In November 2016, an individual working with law enforcement arranged to purchase five kilograms of cocaine from Rodriguez for a price of $28,000 per kilogram. On November 15, 2016, Task Force officers arrested Lara and Rodriguez after Lara delivered the cocaine to a prearranged location."

Lara has been detained since his arrest, and in November of last year, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 500 grams or more of cocaine.

According to prosecutors, Rodriguez, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, also pleaded guilty to the same charge last year, and was also sentenced to 42 months in prison. After their release, both Lara and Rodriguez will face immigration proceedings.

This matter was investigated by the DEA’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and the Stamford and Norwalk Police Departments. The case was prosecuted Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Vizcarrondo.

Image via Shutterstock