Waterbury “Maple Avenue” Drug Trafficker Sentenced To Federal Prison
Wednesday, June 25, 2025, 9:50 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
HARTFORD, CT.- A 33-year-old Waterbury, Connecticut, man, and the leader of the Maple Avenue drug trafficking organization, will be spending nearly two decades in federal prison after being sentenced on Monday for a federal narcotics violation.
According to U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan, on Monday, June 23, 2025, Daniel Diaz-Rivera, also known as “Danny, “Lupin,” “Lupito,” and “L,” 33, of Waterbury, Connecticut, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Michael P. Shea to 210 months in federal prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release for his previously entered guilty plea to a federal drug trafficking conspiracy.
Drug Investigation Launched
According to the charging documents filed with the District Court, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Waterbury Safe Streets Gang Task Force and other law enforcement agencies launched an investigation into two drug trafficking organizations based in the City of Waterbury, Connecticut.
Investigators Identify Diaz-Rivera As Leader Of Maple Avenue
One of the organizations was headed by Angel Quiros, also known as “Papa John,” and conducted its operations in the area of William Avenue, and the other organization, headed by Diaz-Rivera, conducted its operations in the area of Maple Avenue.
The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps on multiple phones, video surveillance, GPS tracking of vehicles, and multiple controlled buys of narcotics, uncovered that the two organizations distributed cocaine, crack cocaine, and fentanyl through a network of street-level sellers. The organizations shared sources of supply and worked together to further their drug distribution operations.
Diaz-Rivera Sells Crack Cocaine To An Undercover Investigator
The Diaz-Rivera organization sold “crack cocaine” and “fentanyl” at all hours of the day and night outside of a bodega on Maple Avenue in the City of Waterbury. Diaz-Rivera oversaw several shift bosses who, in turn, oversaw street-level distributors. During the investigation, Investigators made two controlled purchases of crack cocaine directly from Diaz-Rivera. Diaz-Rivera used violence and threats to control others in connection with his drug distribution network.
Quiros, Diaz-Rivera, and 15 other individuals were charged with federal drug offenses as a result of the investigation. Diaz-Rivera and several co-defendants were arrested on November 29, 2023. In association with the arrests, Investigators obtained and executed multiple court-authorized search warrants and seized around 700 grams of crack cocaine, more than 900 vials, “caps” of crack cocaine, and around 200 grams of powder fentanyl, more than 1,600 single-dose bags of fentanyl/heroin, and two stolen firearms, numerous rounds of ammunition rounds, and more than $39,000 in U.S. currency, including over $13,000 that was found in Diaz-Rivera’s vehicle.
On January 24, 2025, Diaz-Rivera, who has been in custody since his arrest, appeared in Federal Court in Hartford, Connecticut, and pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and to Possess with Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Cocaine. Quiros pleaded guilty to the same charge on February 11, 2025, and is currently awaiting sentencing.
