A Torrington resident, Brian Martinez Rivera, 29, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison and four years of supervised release for his involvement in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill issued the sentence in Bridgeport.
The case was announced by David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. According to court documents and statements made during proceedings, law enforcement identified Joseph Giovanni Soto as the leader of an operation that shipped kilogram quantities of cocaine from Puerto Rico to various addresses in Connecticut and Massachusetts using U.S. Post Offices.
Members of the organization used runners to collect parcels from designated “drop addresses” in New Britain and Meriden, Connecticut, as well as Holyoke and West Springfield, Massachusetts. These packages were delivered to Soto’s residence in Bloomfield or his uncle Ramon Soto’s home in New Britain. Ramon Soto then distributed the cocaine further to individuals in places such as the Bronx, New York.
During their investigation, authorities intercepted 10 suspicious parcels containing about two kilograms of cocaine each and identified roughly 280 additional suspicious parcels likely holding similar amounts that had already been delivered.
Joseph Giovanni Soto was arrested on May 1, 2023. Following his arrest, investigators noticed new suspicious shipments arriving at a Waterbury address associated with Jatniel Morales Gonzalez. Morales Gonzalez had previously worked with Soto and took over operations after Soto’s arrest. Authorities observed Morales Gonzalez, Martinez Rivera, and others collecting these parcels before they were transported onward to the Bronx.
Investigators later found more than 90 additional suspicious parcels during this period; eleven were sent directly to Martinez Rivera’s residence in Torrington. Searches authorized by court order revealed that four seized packages each contained approximately 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 and has been detained since October 2, 2025 following revocation of his bond.
Other participants—Joseph Giovanni Soto, Ramon Soto, and Jatniel Morales Gonzalez—have also pleaded guilty and received prison sentences ranging from ten to fourteen years.
“This matter has been investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force, which includes members from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service – Office of the Inspector General, the Connecticut State Police, the Hartford Police Department, and the Plainville Police Department,” according to officials involved with the case. “The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Levick and Konstantin Lantsman.”