Waterbury Man Charged with Cocaine and Firearms Trafficking Offenses (DOJ)

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division, and Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo today announced that JAN PAUL BAERGA-MARIANI, 31, of Waterbury, has been charged by indictment with narcotics and firearms trafficking offenses.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, between October 2025 and January 2026, undercover ATF agents purchased a total of approximately one kilogram of cocaine and six firearms from Baerga-Mariani. Baerga-Mariani was arrested on February 10, 2025. On that date, a court-authorized search of his residence on Wood Street in Waterbury revealed a 9mm handgun that had been reported stolen in North Carolina in December 2025, a loaded firearm magazine, additional rounds of 9mm ammunition, a small quantity of cocaine, several vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana, and other items.

On February 17, 2026, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging Baerga-Mariani with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, an offense that carries a minimum mandatory term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years, and one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years.

Baerga-Mariani has been detained since his arrest. He appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria E. Garcia in New Haven and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. A charge is only an allegation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Waterbury Police Department with assistance from the Connecticut State Police, Bloomfield Police Department, Windsor Police Department, and the Connecticut Center for Digital Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha Freismuth and Shan Patel.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.