Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A Southbridge resident has admitted to participating in a cocaine distribution conspiracy in Central Massachusetts. Eric Rivera, 33, pleaded guilty in federal court in Worcester to one count of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman set sentencing for November 12, 2025.
Rivera was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2024 alongside alleged co-conspirators Luis Sastre Pagan and Miguel Lopez, who have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.
According to court documents, from April 2023 through April 2024, Rivera helped coordinate shipments of kilograms of cocaine into Central Massachusetts. He provided addresses that were used as drop locations for drug packages in Worcester County and transported packages of cocaine to other known traffickers in the Springfield area.
During the investigation, authorities seized four packages linked to the organization, all containing cocaine. One package addressed to Rivera and seized in February 2023 contained three kilograms of cocaine. Prosecutors attribute between 15 and 50 kilograms of cocaine to Rivera’s role in the operation.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a fine up to $1 million. Sentencing will be determined by a federal judge following guidelines and statutory factors.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration New England Field Division; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division announced the plea. The DEA Puerto Rico office and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico also assisted with the case prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin Brown.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation that focuses on dismantling major criminal organizations using intelligence-led efforts across agencies [https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF].
Authorities remind that details outlined against other defendants are allegations only until proven otherwise by law.
