Hartford, Connecticut Man Sentenced for Drug Trafficking Offense

Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on June 20, 2023, Raymond Rivera, 33, of Hartford, Connecticut, was sentenced in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont, to serve 66 months in prison after his guilty plea to one count of possessing cocaine and fentanyl with intent to distribute. U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III also ordered Rivera to serve a five-year term of supervised release and to pay a $100 special assessment. At the time of the offense, Rivera was serving a term of supervised release from a 2015 drug conviction in federal court in Connecticut. Rivera’s commission of the Vermont offense provided the basis for a violation of Rivera’s supervised release. On the supervised release violation, Judge Sessions sentenced Rivera to 12 months in jail consecutive to the 66-month sentence on the new criminal case. 

According to court records and proceedings, Rivera was found in possession of a large quantity of cocaine and fentanyl on October 20, 2022, during the execution of a Vermont state search warrant at a residence in Northfield, Vermont. Rivera was arrested during the search and has been detained since then.

U.S. Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Northfield Police Department in the investigation and prosecution of Rivera.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Van de Graaf handled the prosecution of Rivera. Allan Sullivan, Esq., represented Rivera.