A Puerto Rico man has received a 10-year federal prison sentence for his role in a cocaine trafficking operation that was shipping parcels containing cocaine from post offices in Puerto Rico to Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Jatniel Morales Gonzalez, 28, of Ponce, Puerto Rico, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force identified Joseph Giovanni Soto as the alleged leader of a cocaine trafficking operation that was shipping packages that contained cocaine from U.S. post offices in Puerto Rico to “drop addresses” in New Britain and Meriden, as well as addresses in Holyoke and West Springfield, Massachusetts, court records show.
The drug trafficking operation reportedly used “runners” to pick up the packages from the addresses and deliver them to Soto’s residence in Bloomfield and to the residence of his uncle, Ramon Soto, in New Britain, according to court records.
“Typically, Ramon Soto, at Joseph Soto’s direction, then delivered the cocaine to individuals in the Bronx, New York, and elsewhere, in return for payment,” court records show.
During the investigation, investigators intercepted 10 “suspicious parcels,” each of which reportedly contained two kilograms of cocaine, and reportedly identified 280 “suspicious parcels likely containing kilogram quantities of cocaine that had been delivered to the various drop addresses,” according to court records.
Joseph Giovanni Soto was arrested on May 1, 2023. Court records show that, in August 2023, investigators saw a reemergence of packages mailed from Puerto Rico to the New Britain and Meriden areas, and then to a Waterbury address where Morales Gonzalez was living.
Investigators learned that Morales Gonzalez and Soto worked together prior to Soto’s arrest and believed that Morales Gonzalez had taken over control of the Connecticut side of the cocaine trafficking network after Soto was arrested, according to court records.
Investigators identified several new addresses that were allegedly receiving suspicious packages. Morales Gonzalez and others were reportedly observed picking up the parcels from the addresses and bringing them to Morales Gonzalez’s home before they were delivered to the Bronx, court records show.
“During this part of the investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service identified 98 additional suspicious parcels and seized and searched four of them,” according to court records. “Each of the searched packages contained approximately two kilograms of cocaine.”
Court records show that investigators conducted a court-authorized search of Morales Gonzalez’s residence on June 26, 2024, and reportedly seized two kilograms of cocaine, a loaded handgun, a Smith and Wesson M&P 9 Shield firearm and two drug ledgers.
On Jan. 8, Ramon Soto pleaded guilty to a related charge and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Joseph Giovanni Soto pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine and was sentenced to 14 years in prison on May 9, according to court records.
Morales Gonzales pleaded guilty on Sept. 2 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine, court records show. He is currently released on a $100,000 bond and is required to report to prison on Jan. 21, 2026.
Brian Martinez Rivera, 29, of Torrington, and Luis Torres Ortiz, 24, of New Britain, also pleaded guilty to charges related to their involvement in the drug trafficking operation and are awaiting sentencing.