COCAINE DEALER GETS JAIL

By Cooperating With Authorities, The Former Hospital Technician Got A
Relatively Light Sentence.

A Philadelphia man who authorities said was a leading player in a
major area cocaine ring was sentenced yesterday to 18 months to three
years in Bucks County Prison by Common Pleas Judge Isaac S. Garb. Luis
Rivera, 32, pleaded guilty in January to charges of possession with
intent to deliver and delivery of a controlled substance, and agreed
to cooperate with authorities as they continue to investigate the drug
organization. A former dialysis technician at Thomas Jefferson
University Hospital, Rivera had faced a maximum of 30 years in jail.
Gary Gambardella, chief deputy district attorney, said Rivera received
a light sentence because of his extensive cooperation at "the risk of
life and limb," which had led investigators to other members of the
ring. Last August, authorities seized 228 pounds of cocaine with an
estimated street value of more than $16 million from the trunk of a
car parked in the garage of Rivera's Northeast Philadelphia duplex.

Alan Rubenstein, Bucks County district attorney, called it one of the
largest cocaine caches ever in the area. The drug operation
transported cocaine from New York City to Philadelphia, where Rivera
and others distributed it throughout southeastern Pennsylvania and
South Jersey, authorities said. Rivera, of the 9000 block of Convent
Avenue, was arrested last Aug. 26 in Bucks County after selling 2.2
pounds of cocaine for $23,500 to David Campbell, of Hilltown Township.
Campbell told police he had sold cocaine for eight to 10 years in
Bucks and Montgomery Counties and that Rivera was his supplier.

Philadelphia and Bucks County authorities raided Rivera's home on Aug.
26, capping a 17-month probe. The gang's alleged leader, Luis Mario
Rojas -- also known as "Big Joe" and Miguel Garcia -- escaped from
Pennsylvania State Police custody last September. He is still at
large. In court yesterday, Garb called Rivera a paradox. "You
permitted yourself to be involved in a gigantic organization to
distribute drugs because you needed money while at the same time you
were holding out a helping hand to unfortunate people," said Garb.
Moments earlier, several dialysis patients and others told Garb that
Rivera was a compassionate friend who went out of his way to help them
through tough times. "This was a crime of huge proportions. You were
transporting trunks full of cocaine," Garb said. "You were not just a
mule. You were part of the network."