Sentencing for ex-Newtown cop postponed

Former Newtown police Sgt. Steven Santucci. Former Newtown police Sgt. Steven Santucci. Photo: Contributed / Patch.com Photo: Contributed / Patch.com Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Sentencing for ex-Newtown cop postponed 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

NEWTOWN — The sentencing of Steven Santucci, a former Newtown police sergeant who admitted to leading a steroid trafficking ring, has been postponed until he completes an electrician’s training program.

The sentencing hearing, which was scheduled to take place in Hartford federal court this Wednesday, is now set for July 8.

“Mr. Santucci is diligently planning for a second career and it would be beneficial if he could complete his technical training so that he can begin the new career as soon as his legal problems are behind him,” defense attorney Dan LaBelle wrote in a letter to the court.

Santucci, 39, of Waterbury, faces up to 30 years in prison, but under a plea deal reached in December, LaBelle and the government recommended a jail sentence of 57 to 71 months. The judge could still sentence him below or above that range.

Court records show that Santucci, a 15-year veteran of the Newtown Police Department, had been receiving shipments of steroids ingredients from China since at least 2011. He then manufactured and distributed large quantities of the muscle-boosting substance to bodybuilders in local gyms, authorities said.

Santucci and several other accomplices, including a former co-worker, were arrested last spring after a year-long undercover investigation, which authorities dubbed “Operation Juice Box.”

Bridgeport resident Jason Chickos, who worked for more than 10 years as a civilian Newtown police dispatcher, was one of Santucci’s primary distributors, according to court records. Authorities said Chickos and Santucci sometimes made drug deals inside the police department.

Chickos was sentenced in January to two years of probation for his role in the conspiracy.

Santucci has been ordered to surrender his weapons and passport and he is not allowed to leave Connecticut or enter any gym, fitness center or body-building facility. He has been free on a $100,000 bond.