Drug kingpin gets life in prison
A NORTH PHILLY drug kingpin got a life sentence Tuesday in federal court for running a large-scale drug-trafficking organization that involved his wife and mother-in-law.
A NORTH PHILLY drug kingpin got a life sentence Tuesday in federal court for running a large-scale drug-trafficking organization that involved his wife and mother-in-law.
Alexander "Reds" Rivera's gang operated in a troubled Kensington neighborhood from February 2006 to September 2010.
The gang controlled drug distribution around Indiana Avenue and Lawrence Street and in other areas of the city.
Rivera, 30, obtained cocaine, crack, heroin and PCP that he and his co-defendants then peddled on the street. The indictment charged 17 defendants, all of whom pleaded guilty except Rivera and his wife.
Authorities said that Rivera and his cohorts engaged in violence to protect their territory and that Rivera and a co-defendant had hired a hitman to shoot a rival dealer in December 2009.
Rivera was convicted of conspiracy and drug and firearms offenses after a trial in December.
His wife, Ileana Vidal, 26, was convicted of conspiracy and is to be sentenced Wednesday.