Willie Alvarado, Jr., a 34-year-old resident of Utica, New York, received an eight-year federal prison sentence for attempted possession with intent to distribute over 500 grams of cocaine and money laundering. The announcement came from United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New York Division.

Alvarado's guilty plea included admissions that he began using the United States Postal Service in October 2022 to receive drug parcels from Puerto Rico. In May 2023, law enforcement intercepted a package from Puerto Rico intended for Alvarado containing two kilograms of cocaine. Alvarado acknowledged his intention to distribute the cocaine. He also admitted to laundering at least $9,940 of his drug proceeds through another individual in September 2023.

Senior United States District Court Judge David N. Hurd has also imposed a four-year term of supervised release following Alvarado's prison sentence.

The case was investigated by the DEA, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and United States Postal Inspection Service with support from multiple local and state law enforcement agencies including the New York State Police and Utica Police Department among others. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica N. Carbone led the prosecution.