United States Drug Enforcement Administration

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that THOMAS RIVERA, 30, of New Britain, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 72 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for fentanyl distribution and firearm possession offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 3, 2022, Hartford Police stopped a vehicle Rivera was operating and found him in possession of a bag containing approximately 140 grams of fentanyl, approximately 370 sleeves of fentanyl, a 9mm semiautomatic pistol with a loaded 15-round magazine, and $1,323 in cash.  Rivera was arrested on state charges at that time.

Rivera’s criminal history includes state felony convictions for firearm possession and drug distribution offenses.  It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

Rivera has been detained since his federal arrest on August 2, 2022.  On January 9, 2023, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force and the Hartford Police Department’s Vice, Intelligence and Narcotics Division.  The DEA Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and Windsor Locks Police Departments.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ruff.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.