DA: Hudson Valley Man With Mexican Cocaine Sent to Jail

A man was sentenced after he was found in the Hudson Valley with a lot of cocaine from a Mexican cartel.

On Wednesday, Ricardo Almenteros of Rochester was sentenced in Ulster County Court to 12 years in state prison with 5 years post-release after he was convicted of criminal possession of a controlled substance.

On Dec. 3, 2017, around 2:40 a.m., New York State Police pulled over Almentero's car on I-87 North in the Town of Plattekill. A search under the hood of the vehicle revealed 2.8 pounds of cocaine hidden in the air intake compartment of the engine.

The brick had an identifying mark of “OSO” (bear in Spanish) which is believed to be an identifier of the Sinaloa Cartel in Culiacan Mexico, according to the Ulster County District Attorney's Office.

Almenteros has a 2011 federal felony conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.