Rivera
GOSHEN – The owner of the Newburgh Boxing Club was sentenced in Orange County Court on Tuesday to five to 15 years in state prison for having conspired to engage in the sale of more than a half-ounce of heroin, which he knew would be sold on the streets of the City of Newburgh.
Raymond Rivera, 49, of Newburgh, pled guilty to the felony of conspiracy on August 22. He was alleged to have been one of the main suppliers of heroin to a drug trafficking organization, which operated and controlled the area of First Street in Newburgh. He was arrested on June 7 as part of the investigation dubbed “Operation Punch-Out,” a 10-month narcotics investigation conducted by the State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team, City of Newburgh Police and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Over 20 arrests were made in that investigation and law enforcement officials recovered over 56 grams of unpackaged heroin, over 1,000 individual packages of heroin, 28 grams of cocaine, over $8,000 in cash, scales, packaging material, cutting agents and a loaded .45 caliber pistol. The street value of the narcotics seized was over $18,000.
“The state prison sentence that Raymond Rivera received as appropriate given his level of involvement in this drug trafficking conspiracy,” said District Attorney David Hoovler. “It is always disappointing when it is discovered that a respected community figure, who could have served as a role model, succumbed to the allure of quick narcotics profits.”
Hoovler said Rivera’s participation in the drug trafficking operation “was a betrayal of all that he processed he stood for. While he was accepting accolades for helping Newburgh’s youth, he was peddling the very substance that is destroying their lives.”
