Roslindale Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Cocaine

BOSTON – A Roslindale man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to his role in a cocaine distribution operation on the South Shore.

Roberto Fonseca-Rivera, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Dec. 6, 2017.

From late February 2016 until July 19, 2016, Fonseca-Rivera conspired with co-defendant Angel Morales, 46, of Stoughton, and others, to distribute cocaine in Canton, Stoughton, Randolph, Quincy and Weymouth.  Morales asked Fonseca-Rivera and another individual to receive packages containing cocaine that were being shipped from Puerto Rico to locations in Randolph and Canton, where Fonseca-Rivera had rented private mailboxes.  Fonseca-Rivera received at least eight packages from Puerto Rico and delivered them to Morales, who paid Fonseca-Rivera for receiving the cocaine.  Morales and Fonseca-Rivera then distributed the cocaine to other individuals. 

Morales is scheduled to plead guilty on Sept. 14, 2017.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney William Weinreb; Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Richard D. McKeon, Superintendent, Massachusetts State Police; and Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara made the announcement today.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys James E. Arnold and Craig E. Estes of Weinreb’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.