Robert E. Bridges, 59, formerly of Greenwich and Redding, was sentenced to 17 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for trafficking marijuana.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 28, 2008, Bridges was sentenced in U.S. District Court in New Haven to 70 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for operating a scheme that defrauded investors of more than $5 million.
Bridges was released from prison in November 2012 and began serving his three-year term of supervised release.
In May 2014, Bridges filed a motion seeking early termination of his supervised release and stated “Defendant is a totally different person as a result of being incarcerated. The life-changing and life-improving process was used to make the most of every day.”
On June 18, 2014, Bridges’ motion for early termination of supervised release was granted.
In May 2014, Bridges applied for Post Office boxes at U.S. Post Offices in Georgetown, Riverside and Wilton, Connecticut.
On December 11, 2014, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service identified three suspicious packages that were being mailed from Woodland, California to two of Bridges’ P.O. boxes.
When Bridges arrived at the Georgetown Post Office later that day to retrieve his packages, he was interviewed by a U.S. Postal Inspector and gave written consent to search the packages.
The first package contained 112 plastic vials that contained hashish, the second package contained nine vacuum-sealed plastic bags containing a total of approximately 4.5 kilograms of marijuana, and the third package contained 11 vacuum-sealed bags containing a total of approximately 5.5 kilograms of marijuana.
Bridges admitted to law enforcement that he had recently traveled to California, paid approximately $60,000 for the drugs and shipped the packages to himself.
Bridges has been detained since his arrest on December 18, 2014. On April 28, 2015, he pleaded guilty to one count of possessing with intent to distribute marijuana.
To date, Bridges has paid approximately $4,000 of the $5 million he owes in restitution related to his fraud conviction.
The sentencing was announced by Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. Bridges was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport. This matter was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and was prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale.