Jose Rivera, aged 37 from Queens, New York, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for his involvement in a drug trafficking organization operating in Berkeley County, West Virginia. This sentencing comes after Rivera's role in supplying approximately three kilograms of cocaine to another individual who transported it to West Virginia for distribution was revealed through court documents and courtroom statements.
Post-incarceration, Rivera will undergo a supervised release period of three years. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher represented the government in his prosecution.
The extensive investigation was carried out by numerous law enforcement agencies, including the FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; and the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force. This initiative was part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program and involved various police departments from West Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey, alongside federal agencies such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the New York Police Department. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices from Maryland and the Middle District of Pennsylvania also participated.
This case is a segment of Operation Take Back America, an initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at combating illegal immigration, dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and safeguarding communities from violent crime. Operation Take Back America optimizes resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The case proceedings were overseen by Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh.
