Jose C. Rivera, 37, of Manchester, was sentenced on April 30 by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 66 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for narcotics trafficking and firearm possession offenses, according to United States Attorney David X. Sullivan.
The sentencing follows an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating out of Supreme Automotive on Main Street in New Britain. The FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and the New Britain Police Department used wiretaps, surveillance, and controlled purchases to investigate the group led by Wilfredo Ortiz.
Authorities identified Nelson Alejandro-Capo as a cocaine supplier who worked with Eli Samuel O’Farrill-Fernandez as a middleman. Investigators intercepted conversations involving Rivera discussing cocaine purchases in October 2024. On November 14, 2024, Rivera and several others were arrested after law enforcement searched multiple locations connected to the organization and seized over five kilograms of cocaine, more than 200 grams of fentanyl, about 30 grams of heroin, seven firearms, ammunition, approximately $75,000 in cash, and vehicles. At Rivera’s Rocky Hill residence officers found fentanyl and cocaine along with drug processing materials and a loaded handgun.
Rivera pleaded guilty on November 25, 2025 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. He had been released on bond but must report to prison by July 6. Ortiz received a sentence of 135 months; Alejandro-Capo received 144 months; O’Farrill-Fernandez received 120 months.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha Freismuth, Reed Durham, and David Nelson following an investigation involving several federal agencies including Homeland Security Investigations; Drug Enforcement Administration; Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division; U.S. Marshals Service; Connecticut State Police; Connecticut Department of Correction; Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles Police; as well as numerous local police departments.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut prosecutes federal crimes—including those related to narcotics—and manages civil cases for the United States within the state according to its official website. The office employs about sixty-eight assistant attorneys alongside fifty-seven support staff members according to its official website at locations in New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport.
The office is one of the oldest federal prosecutorial offices established in America since its founding in 1789 according to its official website. It advances justice initiatives intended to enhance quality-of-life for residents statewide according to its official website, serves all communities across Connecticut according to its official website, has produced alumni who became judges or elected officials according to its official website, and operates under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Justice according to its official website.