Southbridge Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Distribution Conspiracy

BOSTON – A Southbridge man pleaded guilty in federal court in Worcester to conspiring to distribute cocaine in Central Massachusetts.

Eric Rivera, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for Nov. 12, 2025. In November 2024, Rivera was indicted by a federal grand jury along with alleged co-conspirators Luis Sastre Pagan and Miguel Lopez.

From in or about April 2023 through April 2024, Rivera participated in a conspiracy that shipped kilograms of cocaine into Central Massachusetts. Specifically, Rivera provided addresses to be used as “drop addresses” for drug packages in Worcester County and drove packages of cocaine to other known drug traffickers in the Springfield area. 

Over the course of the investigation, four packages related to the drug trafficking organization were seized, each of which were found to contain cocaine. This includes one package seized in February 2023 that was addressed to Rivera and found to contain three kilograms of cocaine. In total, between 15-50 kilograms of cocaine is attributable to Rivera as part of his participation in the conspiracy.

Rivera’s alleged co-conspirators have pleaded not guilty and are pending trial.

The charge of conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jarod A. Forget Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the DEA Puerto Rico and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin Brown of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.