PASCO COUNTY, Fla. – Jonathan Rivera-Roman, 35, from Hudson, has been given a sentence of 19 years and seven months in federal jail for planning to traffic cocaine and for selling cocaine.
As part of his term, the court also ordered that a co-conspirator give back $108,000, which was taken from them.
On March 29, 2023, Rivera-Roman was caught and put in jail. On November 8, 2023, he said he was guilty. Angel Martinez-Pantoja, who was also charged with crimes with Rivera-Roman, was given a 10-year prison term on February 23, 2024. Oscar Borelli-Ortiz, a third co-defendant, is trying to avoid being caught by the police.
Court papers say that Rivera-Roman ran a drug crime ring in Pasco County that got cocaine from Puerto Rico delivered.
After controlling several sales of cocaine from Martinez-Pantoja, the police learned on August 28, 2021, that the group was going to get more drugs from Borelli-Ortiz in Orlando.
That night, police pulled over three cars and executed several search warrants the next day. They found a lot of cash, guns, and cocaine weight several kilograms.
At the sentencing hearing, it was said that the Rivera-Roman group was in charge of getting at least 100 kg of cocaine to sell in the Tampa Bay area. Rivera-Roman also used a business that sold beauty products to wash the money he got from selling drugs.
