York County Man Sentenced To Prison For Drug Trafficking Offenses

HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Marcos Fernandez Rivera, age 27, of York, Pennsylvania, was sentenced yesterday to 30 months’ imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner following his conviction for conspiring and attempting to traffic cocaine.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Rivera previously pleaded guilty to those crimes, which stemmed from, among other things, the seizure of a parcel that contained one kilogram of cocaine concealed inside of a boardgame box, the seizure of cash, and evidence obtained from cell phones revealing that Rivera was communicating with codefendant Gregory Ruiz Mercado about other packages.

Judge Conner also ordered Rivera to pay a fine and special assessment, and to serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.  Ruiz Mercado was sentenced on February 26, 2024, to 30 months’ imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Pennsylvania State Police and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Johnny Baer and K. Wesley Mishoe.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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