Kilo Of Cocaine, Cash Found At Brentwood Home: DA

BRENTWOOD, NY — A Brentwood man was indicted after prosecutors said he ran a drug distribution operation from his home and possessed more than a kilogram of cocaine.

Luis Rivera, 67, was charged with first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and other related charges, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said Monday.

Rivera sold cocaine to an undercover police officer on three occasions in May, prosecutors said.

On May 26, members of the Suffolk County Police Department executed a search warrant at Rivera’s home and recovered more than a kilogram of cocaine, about 45 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition, about $11,000 in cash and drug paraphernalia used for the distribution and sale of narcotics, including a digital scale and packaging materials, prosecutors said.

Rivera was arraigned Monday before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro on charges including first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony, three felony counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, four felony counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, and second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.

Ambro ordered Rivera held on $50,000 cash, $100,000 bond or $500,000 partially secured bond, prosecutors said.

Rivera is due back in court on July 24. He faces 8 to 20 years in prison if convicted of the top count, prosecutors said.

He is represented by Robert Macedonio, who was not immediately available to comment.

“The residents of Brentwood deserve to live without drug distribution operations running out of homes in their streets,” Tierney said. “Thanks to the diligent work of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Narcotics Section, we have stopped a significant quantity of cocaine from entering our community.”