3 Sentenced In Drug Pipeline Between Westchester And Philadelphia

YONKERS, NY — Hefty prison sentences were given to three defendants convicted of illegal narcotics possession and inter-state drug trafficking, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah has announced.

An additional sentence was given to one of the defendants who investigators found had videos and images of children engaged in sexual acts on his mobile phone.

"The successful prosecution of these cases reflect our strong commitment to removing drug traffickers from our communities and securing a sense of safety in our neighborhoods," Rocah said. "This is a result of yet another strong partnership with our federal, state and local law enforcement on cracking down on the flow of illegal narcotics from out of state, and also the intra-office collaboration between investigations and cybercrimes to identify someone who also posed a threat to children."

A six-month-long, multi-agency investigation, beginning in February of 2022, focused on the illegal possession and trafficking of cocaine from Philadelphia to Yonkers, involving three men. The DA's Office's High Technology Crimes Squad performed a forensic analysis of their mobile phones and found text message photos of drug sales, including photos of cash and cocaine worth more than $1 million, proving their roles in the trafficking operation.

34-year-old Christian Miranda, of Yonkers, was sentenced on June 5, to nine years in prison, with five years of post-release supervision, after pleading guilty to operating as a major trafficker and first degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Miranda was arrested on Aug. 2, 2022, along with another defendant, Marco Rivera, by the DEA’s NY Drug Enforcement Task Force (DETF-13), which found three kilograms of cocaine and more than $300,000 hidden in furniture at their Yonkers apartment.

61-year-old Mark Figueroa, of Brooklyn, was sentenced on June 8 to six years in prison, with two years of post-release supervision, after pleading guilty to third degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. DETF-13 arrested Figueroa and found an additional four kilograms of cocaine inside his vehicle, following a drug exchange with Miranda on Nepperhan Street in Yonkers.

31-year-old Marco Rivera, of Philadelphia, was sentenced on Sept. 28 to 12 years in prison, with five years of post-release supervision. Following a three-week trial, a jury on May 11 found Rivera guilty of first degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and third degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

In addition to his drug-related sentence, Rivera was also sentenced on Oct. 19 to an indeterminate term of 1 1/3 to four years in state prison for his guilty plea to three counts of possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child. This follows a 57-count indictment by a Westchester County grand jury in March for possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child stemming from DA’s Office forensic investigators finding multiple videos and files of children engaged in sexual acts on Rivera’s mobile phone. The judge ruled that both sentences will run concurrently.

Rocah thanked DETF-13, a unit comprised of agents and officers of the DEA, the NYPD and the NYSP.

The cases were prosecuted by Violent Criminal Enterprise Deputy Bureau Chief Christopher Clark and Cyber Crimes Deputy Bureau Chief Laura Forbes, both of the Trials and Investigations Division.