Helped run “soccer shop” that sold dope
A federal judge on Feb. 26 sentenced a Newburgh man to seven years in prison for his role in selling heroin from a store that passed itself off as a soccer supply shop.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement that Victor R. Rivas, 29, along with his father, Victor M. Rivas, 52; his brother, Julio Davila, 28; Edward Cardona, 35; and Ronald Matias, 36, sold heroin out of a storefront at 427 Broadway in Newburgh, “within a stone’s throw of a bakery, a church and a post office.” The Soccer Shop was open daily seven days a week for 12 hours each day, the district attorney said.
Law enforcement officials said the shop distributed more than three kilos of heroin in 2016 before its operators were arrested. Police seized more than $260,000 in cash from a nearby storage unit and another $44,000 from the younger Rivas.
Rivas pleaded guilty in July. His father was previously sentenced to 15 years; his brother to six-and-a-half years; and Matias to five years. Cardona will be sentenced in April.
