Anthony Sabato, named a “person of interest” in the 1981 killing of Darien Police Officer Kenneth Bateman, was sentenced Wednesday to 13 years and nine months in prison on unrelated drug-selling charges.
A 2011 Wallingford Police arrest photo (from an unrelated case) of Anthony Sabato, convicted Wednesday on federal drug-selling charges.
The sentencing judge in U.S. District Court in Hartford also found that Sabato, 57, had “supplied the firearm that was used in the murder of Darien Police Officer Kenneth Bateman in May 31, 1981,” according to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Connecticut.
Sabato, a West Haven resident, was arrested on March 24 on an accusation he sold two ounces of crack cocaine to an undercover police officer for $4,000.
He’s been in jail since then, and pleaded guilty on July 6 to one count of “conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In a long criminal career, Sabato has been convicted of 35 crimes since 1975.
Here’s the full announcement Wednesday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Anthony Sabato, 57, of West Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 165 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for trafficking crack cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately March 2013 to March 2015, Sabato conspired to distribute crack cocaine.
During the investigation of this matter, an undercover officer purchased crack from Sabato and his co-defendant, Miguel Joel Roman of Hartford. The investigation also revealed that Sabato was selling prescription narcotics.
Sabato and Roman were arrested on March 24, 2015, after they sold approximately two ounces of crack to the undercover officer in exchange for $4,000.
A search of Sabato’s residence on that date revealed crack cocaine, powder cocaine, two digital drug scales, narcotics paraphernalia and approximately 10 mobile phones.
Sabato has been detained since his arrest. On July 6, 2015, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”).
Sabato has sustained 35 convictions since 1975, including state convictions for assault, larceny, burglary and narcotics offenses, and federal convictions for firearms, gambling, and fraud offenses.
In addition to noting Sabato’s lengthy criminal history, Judge Bryant found that Sabato supplied the firearm that was used in the murder of Darien Police Officer Kenneth Bateman in May 31, 1981.
On Nov. 12, 2015, Roman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 10, 2016.
This investigation has been conducted by the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets Task Force, the West Haven Police Department and the Darien Police Department.
The Task Force includes personnel from the FBI, West Haven Police Department, New Haven Police Department, Milford Police Department and Connecticut Department of Correction. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Lee Dayton.