Jorge Rivera, the former driver to 6ix9ine and confidential FBI informant, was sentenced to two years of federal probation this week, avoiding any additional jail time.
In 2019, Rivera was brought up on racketeering charges alongside 6ix9ine, Shotti, and 10 other members and associates of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods. But federal prosecutors eventually revealed that Rivera had been working with the FBI for over a year before the arrests were made. Rivera had agreed to cooperate after he was arrested by ICE and faced deportation.
Rivera's sentence is the lowest out of anyone who was charged.
Prosecutors wrote in court records that Rivera deserved leniency because his cooperation was instrumental in gathering evidence on several violent incidents, including robberies and shootings. He was the first to notify authorities when 6ix9ine was kidnapped by Anthony "Harv" Ellison, for instance.
When Rivera met 6ix9ine, aka Daniel Hernandez, and Kifano "Shotti" Jordan in February 2018, he was a private citizen making a living as a livery cab driver.
"Prior to that fateful day, Rivera had never met (or even heard of) Hernandez or Jordan," prosecutors wrote. "Hernandez instantly liked Rivera, and days later Hernandez hired Rivera to drive Hernandez to and from an event. Over the next several weeks, Rivera became Hernandez’s regular driver."
After he picked up an immigration charge two months later, Rivera agreed to act as a confidential informant. From April-July 2018, he notified his case agents of multiple robberies and shootings. On another occasion, he told the FBI about a gun in a vehicle, and the agents retrieved it by staging a car break-in, prosecutors said.
On July 21, he notified authorities when he saw several Nine Trey members arming themselves at a concert in New York, resulting in the concert being shut down. When 6ix9ine was kidnapped the next day, Rivera alerted authorities and provided video footage from the incident. He later testified against Ellison, who was convicted and is still awaiting sentence.
"Rivera’s testimony was crucial at trial because it corroborated the testimony of Hernandez and convincingly belied Ellison’s defense that the robbery and kidnapping were staged," prosecutors wrote.
In a letter to the court, Rivera wrote that at the time he viewed getting hired by 6ix9ine as a "once in a lifetime" career opportunity and jumped at it. Now, he views it as "the worst mistake of my life."
"As my sentencing day approaches I cannot help but reflect even more-so on the consequences of having met Daniel Hernandez and the people he introduced me to," Rivera wrote. "To say that I regret my decisions during my employment with 'Tekashi69' would be a major understatement. Frankly after this whole ordeal I was left with much less than what I started with."
Written by: Nate Gartrell
