Brian Martinez Rivera, 29, of Torrington, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison and four years of supervised release for his involvement in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport.
According to information presented in court, the investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force. Authorities identified Joseph Giovanni Soto as the leader of an operation that shipped parcels containing kilogram quantities of cocaine from Puerto Rico to various addresses in Connecticut and Massachusetts. These parcels were picked up by individuals known as “runners” and delivered to locations associated with Soto.
The task force intercepted 10 suspicious parcels, each holding about two kilograms of cocaine, and identified approximately 280 additional parcels suspected to contain similar amounts that had already been delivered.
After Joseph Giovanni Soto’s arrest on May 1, 2023, investigators noticed new suspicious parcels arriving from Puerto Rico. These were traced to Jatniel Morales Gonzalez in Waterbury. Investigators learned that Morales Gonzalez had worked with Soto before his arrest and took over operations afterward. Several new drop addresses were found, and authorities observed Morales Gonzalez, Martinez Rivera, and others retrieving these packages before they were sent on to the Bronx.
More than 90 additional suspicious parcels were flagged during this phase; eleven of them were sent directly to Martinez Rivera’s home in Torrington. Searches authorized by the court revealed that four seized packages each contained roughly two kilograms of cocaine.
Martinez Rivera was arrested on December 19, 2024. He pleaded guilty on August 21, 2025, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine. His bond was revoked on October 2, 2025; he has remained detained since then.
Other individuals involved—Joseph Giovanni Soto, Ramon Soto (Soto’s uncle), and Morales Gonzales—have also pleaded guilty and received sentences ranging from ten to fourteen years in prison.
The investigation involved members from several agencies: the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Postal Service – Office of the Inspector General; Connecticut State Police; Hartford Police Department; and Plainville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Levick and Konstantin Lantsman are prosecuting the case.
