Utica Man Sentenced For Drug And Money Laundering Offenses
Tuesday, January 21, 2025, 1:15 P.M. ET. 1 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
SYRACUSE, NY.- Last week, a 34-year-old Utica, New York, man found out that he would be spending the next eight years in federal prison after being sentenced for receiving nearly five pounds of cocaine through the U.S. mail and money laundering.
U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman reported that last week, Willie Alvarado, 34, of Utica, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York and was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge David N. Hurd to 96 months in federal prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release for his previously entered guilty plea to federal narcotics and money laundering offenses.
Alvarado previously appeared in U.S. District Court on May 29, 2024, and pleaded guilty to one count of Attempted Possession with Intent to Distribute 500 Grams of Cocaine; and one count of Money Laundering.
According To Court Documents
According to the charging information filed with the District Court and statements made during his plea allocution, Alvarado admitted that in and around October 2022, he began to use the United States Postal Service to receive cocaine shipments from Puerto Rico. In May 2023, federal investigators intercepted a package shipped from Puerto Rico, intended for Alvarado, which contained two kilograms of cocaine.
Alvarado admitted that he intended to distribute the cocaine in the Northern District of New York, specifically in and around the Utica, New York, area. Alvarado also admitted that, in September 2023, he used another person to launder at least $9,940 in drug proceeds.
