PLATTEKILL – An Ulster County Court jury convicted Ricardo Almenteros of Rochester of the two felony counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance following two hours of deliberations on Friday.
Almenteros was arrested after a traffic stop on the northbound Thruway in the Town of Plattekill. A State Police K-9 located 2.8 pounds of cocaine in brick form hidden in the air intake compartment of the engine. The brick had an identifying mark of “OSO” (“bear” in Spanish), which is believed to belong to a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel in Culiacan Mexico.
Almenteros has a 2011 federal felony conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
When sentenced in August, he faces up to 24 years in state prison as a second felony offender.
Almenteros’ two sons – Ricardo E. Almenteros, 19, and Edward Pearce, 23 – were in the car with him. Ricardo E. Almenteros was driving with a suspended license. Prior to trial, the two sons pled guilty to the lesser charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance and are awaiting sentencing.
District Attorney Donald Williams said each of the sons admitted knowledge of the cocaine found in the car and implicated their father during their allocutions. Pearce also admitted that his father had “drug” debts and that the sons were being groomed to take over his distribution business.
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