New Castle Men Plead Guilty in Puerto Rico/Western Pennsylvania Region Drug Trafficking Operation

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Two residents of New Castle, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to charges of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today. Kevin Tulla Torres, age 28, pleaded guilty to distributing and conspiring to distribute cocaine. Luis Rivera Otero, age 37, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine. Tulla Torres, with the help of Rivera Otero, managed a drug trafficking operation that sold drugs in Western Pennsylvania, specifically in the New Castle/Lawrence County area. The arrests of Tulla Torres, Rivera Otero, and another co-conspirator, as well as 14 others charged by separate Indictment, were the result of a 13-month investigation into drug trafficking in and around Lawrence County.

According to information presented to the Court, members of the group utilized the United States Postal Service to receive drug shipments from a supplier in Puerto Rico. Tulla Torres, Rivera Otero, and others then worked together to sell the cocaine as part of an ongoing criminal drug-trafficking conspiracy within Western Pennsylvania.

With regard to Tulla Torres, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of life in prison, a fine of up to $10,000,000, or both for the most serious offense. The total maximum sentence for Rivera Otero is not more than 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of each defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Carl J. Spindler is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation leading to the Indictments in this case in close collaboration with the Lawrence County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, United States Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New Castle City Police Department, Ellwood City Police Department, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, United States Department of Agriculture, Union Township Police Department, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Homeland Security Investigations, and Pennsylvania State Police.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Lawrence County is one of six western Pennsylvania counties officially designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area by the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy. The county received its HIDTA designation in July 2022, allowing it to receive dedicated federal resources to coordinate federal, state, and local governments in fighting drug trafficking and abuse.