Waterbury’s “Bebe” Sentenced For Distributing Cocaine
Friday, July 18, 2025, 10:45 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
HARTFORD, CT.- A 31-year-old Waterbury, Connecticut, man and a convicted cocaine dealer will be spending over the next three years in federal prison after being sentenced on Wednesday for distributing and supplying two Waterbury, Connecticut, drug trafficking organizations with large quantities of cocaine.
According to U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan, on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, Carmelo Cancel, also known as “Bebe,” 31, 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 37 months in federal prison, to by followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to a federal drug crime.
Cancel previously appeared in Federal Court in Hartford, Connecticut, on April 23, 2025, and pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Cocaine. Cancel, who remains free on a $100,000 bond, will be required to surrender himself to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on September 17, 2025.
According To Court Documents
According to court documents and statements made in the District Court, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Waterbury Safe Streets Gang Task Force, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies, launched an investigation into two drug trafficking organizations based in the City of Waterbury. One of the organizations was headed by Angel Quiros, also known as “Papa John,” and operated in the Williams Street area. The other was headed by Daniel Diaz-Rivera and operated in the Maple Avenue area.
The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps on multiple phones, video surveillance, GPS tracking of vehicles, and multiple controlled purchases of illicit narcotics, uncovered that the two organizations distributed crack cocaine and fentanyl utilizing a network of sellers.
Cancel Supplied Cocaine To Both Organizations
Cancel supplied to both organizations, which worked together to further their drug operations. Cancel, Quiros, Diaz-Rivera, along with 14 other individuals, were charged with federal offenses as a result of the investigation. Cancel and several codefendants were taken into custody on November 29, 2023.
During Search Warrants, Investigators Seize Large Cache Of Drugs
As a result of the arrests, Investigators executed multiple court-authorized search warrants and located and seized around 700 grams of crack cocaine, more than 900 vials of prepackaged vials of crack cocaine, approximately 200 grams of loose fentanyl, more than 1,600 single-dose bags of fentanyl/heroin, two stolen firearms, numerous rounds of ammunition, and over $39,000 in U.S. currency.
Quiros and Diaz-Rivera pleaded guilty to related federal charges. Quiros is currently awaiting sentencing, and on June 23, 2025, Diaz-Rivera was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison.
