SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on December 9, 2020, Rafael Lora, age 45, to Hazleton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment and a two-year term of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Lora, his co-defendant Luis Santos, and other individuals conspired to import nearly a kilogram of cocaine from the Dominican Republic to Lora’s residence in Hazleton. The conspirators were apprehended while opening the package of cocaine at Lora’s residence. Lora’s codefendant, Santos, previously was sentenced to 60 months of imprisonment for his role in the offense.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspectors, Customs and Border Patrol, and other state and local law enforcement agencies. Assistant United States Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
