Harry Batchelor, Racketeering, Connecticut 2023

BRIDGEPORT, CT – Harry Batchelor, 27, known on the streets as “Bookie,” is headed to federal prison for more than four years after admitting his role in the brutal turf war waged by the East End gang of Bridgeport. U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden sentenced Batchelor to 50 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, on a racketeering charge, effectively taking a key player off the streets.

The case, a joint effort by the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals, and Bridgeport Police, peeled back layers of a criminal network responsible for flooding the city with heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana, and Percocet. But the drug trade was just one facet of the East End gang’s operation. Court documents reveal a pattern of violence, including at least six murders and countless acts of aggression directed at rival gangs like the Original North End (“O.N.E.”) and the Greene Homes Boyz (“GHB/Hotz”).

Federal investigators discovered the East End gang didn’t shy away from flaunting their criminal exploits, brazenly celebrating their activities on social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube. This digital boasting served a dual purpose: to intimidate potential witnesses and to reinforce the gang’s power within the community. The gang’s reach extended beyond Bridgeport, with members and associates scattered throughout the surrounding towns, either actively engaged in crime or incarcerated.

Batchelor pleaded guilty on June 5, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity. His admission went beyond simply acknowledging involvement in drug distribution. He specifically confessed that a firearm belonging to him was used by another East End member to shoot a rival O.N.E. member on October 17, 2019 – a direct link between Batchelor and a violent act. He’s been locked up since May 6, 2021, awaiting sentencing.

The investigation revealed the East End gang had formed alliances with other Bridgeport crews, including the PT Barnum Gang, the East Side gang, and 150, to amplify their control and expand their criminal enterprise. This complex web of affiliations made unraveling the gang’s activities a painstaking process for law enforcement. The prosecution, led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Kale, Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis, and Stephanie T. Levick, highlighted the severity of the gang’s impact on the city.

This case falls under the umbrella of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Project Longevity, and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs – initiatives designed to dismantle violent criminal organizations and improve public safety. While Batchelor’s sentencing marks a victory for law enforcement, the fight against gang violence in Bridgeport is far from over. The Grimy Times will continue to track the fallout and expose the underbelly of this city’s criminal landscape.

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