DISCREDITED INFORMANT GETS 30 MONTHS ON DRUG CHARGES

Oscar Cadiz, an informant whose testimony against a Hartford lawyer in a
controversial case was discredited by a federal judge, was sentenced
Tuesday to 30 months in prison on drug trafficking charges.

U.S. District Judge Dominic J. Squatrito refused to give Cadiz credit for
cooperating with prosecutors, saying that Cadiz falsely testified against
lawyer M. Donald Cardwell at the behest of Cadiz's uncle, Jose Diaz, a
major trafficker.

Had Cadiz not lied in the Cardwell case, he probably would have been spared
prison, Squatrito said. In imposing prison time, the judge still was being
lenient, because sentencing guidelines prescribed at least 87 months in prison.

Squatrito said that Cadiz's extraordinary efforts to rehabilitate himself
since turning himself in four years ago deserved some consideration. Cadiz
was a relatively minor player in a drug operation run by Diaz, who was
sentenced Monday to 151/2 years in prison.