Man linked to French Connection ring battles feds over case

(AP) — A Connecticut man who federal authorities say was a player in the notorious French Connection heroin ring of the 1960s and 1970s has forced a delay in his sentencing for a 2012 drug bust by continuing to battle authorities over the facts in his case.

Another judge previously denied Catino's bid to exclude the wiretap evidence and certain testimony by law enforcement officials.

Catino's criminal record is a colorful history of drug dealing and prison sentences dating to the 1960s, when federal authorities say he was part of the French Connection heroin smuggling ring that spawned the 1971 Oscar-winning movie of the same name starring Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider.