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Man gets 10 years for bringing drugs from Mexico to Youngstown
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
U.S. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson told a man she was sentencing on charges he brought drugs from Mexico to Youngstown that his case was all about families – his own and those destroyed by the drugs that were sold.
Judge Pearson told Ralph Rivera, 31, of Dallas, during his sentencing hearing Thursday in U.S. Northern District Court of Ohio in the Thomas D. Lambros Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse that because of him, his son, who was just 3 days old when he was arrested last February, will not see his father for a more than a decade.
She sentenced Rivera to slightly more than 10 years in prison, saying she wanted to deter him and others from selling drugs and destroying families, including their own.
“Your son, who was recently born, will spend the first 10 years of his life without you,” Judge Pearson said.
Rivera was indicted along with 11 other people last February, including Jose Martinez, 42, of Austintown. Rivera pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Prosecutors dismissed 28 other counts against him in exchange for his plea.
Prosecutors said Martinez and Rivera were leaders of the ring, with Rivera delivering drugs to Youngstown for Martinez to sell.
Rivera’s attorney, Andre Ligon, tried to tell the judge his client was not a leader of the ring but the “quarterback,” the one who shipped the drugs he got from Mexico to Martinez, who would sell them.
Ligon said his client did not have any control of the drugs once they reached Martinez.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Katz said, however, phone taps show Rivera was calling the shots for Martinez.
“It’s clear from the conversations that Mr. Martinez is deferring to Mr. Rivera,” Katz said.
Judge Pearson quoted from a pre-sentence investigation that said Rivera controlled who collected money for the ring, and he knew its dealers and couriers. She agreed with Katz that Martinez treated Rivera like he was in charge.
“Mr. Martinez didn’t refer to any other participant in the drug ring as ‘boss,’” Judge Pearson said.
Martinez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and received a nine-year sentence Feb. 7 from Judge Pearson.
A federal affidavit in the case said Judge Pearson authorized wire taps in the case in March 2015.
Rivera said he is sorry for his actions and hopes to use his time in prison to get his General Educational Development diploma and learn a trade so he can support his family when he is released.