Schuylkill River Killings: NYC Man Convicted In Connection With Deaths

PHILADELPHIA — Federal authorities said a New York man was convicted of killing two brothers in the Schuylkill River back in 2014.

United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said Jason Rivera, 37, of Queens, New York, was convicted Tuesday at trial of kidnapping and extortion charges.

The charges stem from Rivera's involvement with a gang known as “Born To Kill” (a/k/a “BTK”), who paid him money to collect a substantial drug debt from three drug dealers.

Two of the three victim dealers, who were brothers, were murdered; the third managed to escape drowning in the Schuylkill River and whose rescue made the case national news.

In summer 2014, Rivera and two others were recruited by members of the BTK gang to forcibly collect money from three marijuana dealers who had failed to pay a substantial drug debt, authorities said.

The co-conspirators, including Rivera, were paid several thousand dollars each using the money they took from the victims.

Tam Le, a member of BTK, lured the victims to his home in southwest Philadelphia, where Rivera and the other two co-conspirators assaulted the victims and restrained them with duct tape and zip ties.

They then kidnapped and took the three victims to the Schuylkill River in the back of a van, weighed down their bodies, stabbed them, and dumped all three into the river, according to authorities.

Two victims died in the river, while the third managed to crawl out of the river and flag down a passing motorist on Kelly Drive for assistance.

In addition to this case, five defendants were federally indicted in connection with this crime and have all pleaded guilty to similar charges.

Tam Le was found guilty of murder by a Philadelphia County jury and sentenced to death.