Manchester Man Sentenced to More Than 5 Years in Federal Prison for Narcotics and Firearm Offenses

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSE C. RIVERA, 37, of Manchester, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 66 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for narcotics trafficking and firearm possession offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2024, the FBI's Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and New Britain Police Department investigated a drug trafficking organization, headed by Wilfredo Ortiz, that was operating out of Supreme Automotive, a car dealership located on Main Street in New Britain. The investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, physical and electronic surveillance, and several controlled purchases of narcotics, primarily cocaine, from Ortiz and other members of the conspiracy.

During the investigation, law enforcement identified Nelson Alejandro-Capo as a supplier of cocaine to Ortiz. Alejandro-Capo, using co-conspirator Eli Samuel O'Farrill-Fernandez as a middleman, supplied Ortiz with approximately six kilograms of cocaine. On October 10, 2024, Alejandro-Capo met with Rivera at Rivera's former residence in Rocky Hill. On October 26, 2024, Rivera was intercepted over a wiretap talking with O'Farrill-Fernandez and discussing the purchase of 100 grams of cocaine.

Rivera, Ortiz, O'Farrill-Fernandez, and several other members of the drug trafficking organization were arrested on November 14, 2024. In association with the arrests, investigators conducted court authorized searches of Supreme Automotive and residences and other locations connected to the organization and seized more than five kilograms of cocaine, more than 200 grams of fentanyl, approximately 30 grams of heroin, a kilogram press, seven firearms, ammunition, approximately $75,000 in cash, and 26 vehicles. A search of Rivera's Rocky Hill residence revealed approximately 206 grams of fentanyl, approximately 278 grams of cocaine, drug processing materials, a loaded handgun and an additional gun magazine, and $13,364 in cash.

On November 25, 2025, Rivera pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Released on a $150,000 bond, he is required to report to prison on July 6.

Ortiz, Alejandro-Capo, and O-Farrill-Fernandez pleaded guilty and are currently serving prison terms of 135 months, 144 months, and 120 months, respectively.

This investigation has been conducted by the FBI's Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles Police, and the New Britain, Hartford, West Hartford, Waterbury, Naugatuck, East Hartford, Brookfield, Milford, Norwich, Orange, North Haven, Meriden, Berlin, and Manchester Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha Freismuth, Reed Durham, and David Nelson.