Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced the sentencing of Israel Mendoza, also known as “D-Nice” and “Israel Mandosa,” to 84 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Mendoza, aged 45 and formerly from Reading, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport for trafficking heroin and cocaine into Connecticut.
The investigation, initiated in 2018 by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force, uncovered a narcotics trafficking operation in Hartford utilizing the U.S. Mail for drug and cash shipments. Investigators found that Mendoza supplied Michael Copeland, from Bloomfield, with large quantities of cocaine and directed Copeland to mail cash parcels to individuals in California. In September and October, postal inspectors in California intercepted parcels containing about $13,000 each, mailed from Connecticut to the Fresno area. Postal records indicated the involvement of dozens of additional parcels potentially containing drugs or proceeds.
In February 2019, a parcel containing nearly 500 grams of cocaine was intercepted, having been sent from California to a Bloomfield address connected to Copeland. Mendoza collaborated with others, including Neliobet DeJesus and Danny Rhodes, in distributing heroin and cocaine in Hartford. A mail parcel destined for Orlando, Florida, linked to DeJesus was found to contain approximately 500 grams of cocaine and five grams of fentanyl.
On October 31, 2019, a Hartford grand jury indicted Mendoza, Copeland, DeJesus, and Rhodes for narcotics trafficking offenses. Mendoza remained a fugitive until his arrest in California on August 14, 2023. On October 1, 2024, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. He has been in detention since his arrest.
Copeland, DeJesus, and Rhodes previously entered guilty pleas. Rhodes was sentenced to 87 months in prison on December 8, 2021; Copeland received a 30-month sentence on December 16, 2021; and DeJesus received the same on March 7, 2022.
The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force, the U.S. Postal Service – Office of the Inspector General, the Connecticut Army National Guard, and multiple police departments from Hartford, New Britain, Meriden, and Town of Groton. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Connecticut State Police, and Hartford Police Department also contributed. Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone prosecuted the case.
