Jose Rivera, a 37-year-old resident of Queens, New York, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for his involvement in a drug trafficking operation in Berkeley County, West Virginia. According to court documents, Rivera participated in a conspiracy to sell large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. Rivera was identified as a supplier of nearly three kilograms of cocaine, which was then transported to West Virginia for sale.
Following the completion of his prison term, Rivera will be subject to three years of supervised release. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher.
The investigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and several others. These agencies collaborated through the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative involving various local and federal departments across West Virginia, Maryland, and New York.
This case is part of the broader Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and dismantling transnational criminal organizations. The operation seeks to consolidate efforts from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
The sentencing was presided over by Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh.