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A file photo of a judge’s gavel.
Photo: Contributed Photo / Bjoern Wylezich - TNSA file photo of a judge’s gavel.
A file photo of a judge’s gavel.
A file photo of a judge’s gavel.
ENFIELD — An Enfield man who authorities said put dozens of guns on the street to feed his drug addiction will spend nearly four years in federal prison, officials said.
A judge sentenced 36-year-old Norman Klosek, who also goes by Rich Klosek, to serve 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
The charges against Klosek stemmed from an investigation by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force into Ricardo “Rick the Ruler” Reyes, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham.
Investigators learned Reyes, a member of the Los Solidos street gang, was distributing fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and crack in the Park and Hungerford streets area in Hartford, officials said.
During the investigation, law enforcement discovered Reyes was receiving and selling guns and that Klosek, who had a valid state pistol permit, was acting as a “straw purchaser” of the firearms, officials said.
“Klosek was addicted to heroin/fentanyl, and he purchased and transferred the firearms to support his drug addiction,” the news release said.
Klosek first bought and registered a gun in Connecticut on Nov. 6, 2018, officials said. He has since purchased 47 guns — 25 of which were obtained during a six-week period from March 8 to April 22, 2019, officials said.
On April 24, 2018, a search of Klosek’s home led investigators to empty gun boxes and receipts for gun purchases, but they did not find any firearms, according to officials. He was arrested the next day in Hartford in possession of fentanyl/heroin, authorities said.
One was seized by police after it was used in an Aug. 22 2019 shooting in Hartford, officials said. Last month, authorities said investigators learned that some of the other guns Klosek bought were recovered during criminal investigations in Brimfield, Mass., and Riverside, Calif.
Police have seized 10 of the 47 guns that Klosek purchased.
He pleaded guilty on March 2 to one count of dealing firearms without a license and one count of making a false statement during the acquisition of a firearm.
Klosek, released on a $50,000 bond, was told to report to federal prison on Nov. 17.
Reyes and many co-defendants were picked up on a federal criminal complaints on June 17, 2019. A grand jury returned a 32-count indictment 10 days later, charging Reyes and 14 other members and associates of Los Solidos with various narcotics and gun possession offenses.
Reyes has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
For substance abuse-related services, including referrals, call 211 or visit www.211ct.org/.
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