In a major blow to the state’s narcotics trade, a Newington man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring.
Angel Luis Rodriguez, 45, also known as ‘Lou Rock,’ was handed the sentence by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford on November 10, 2022. Rodriguez was also ordered to pay a $3,000 fine and serve five years of supervised release after his prison term.
According to court documents, the DEA’s Hartford Task Force first identified Rodriguez’s connection to the narcotics trade in January 2018, when a DEA undercover agent posing as a money broker picked up $118,070 in heroin trafficking proceeds from an individual who was subsequently identified as Rodriguez.
In April 2018, the undercover agent picked up $130,950 in drug trafficking proceeds from Rodriguez’s associate, Ismael Roman, also known as ‘Poochie’ and ‘Pete.’ On May 1, 2019, investigators observed Rodriguez and Roman meet at an associate’s apartment in Enfield and seized $27,000 in suspected narcotics proceeds.
That same day, investigators searched the associate’s apartment and seized more than $1.1 million in cash. During the investigation, authorities learned that Rodriguez and Roman conspired to traffic cocaine and that Rodriguez used tractor trailer drivers to transport narcotics to Connecticut.
On December 1, 2020, Rodriguez arranged with a tractor trailer driver to pick up approximately 15 kilograms of cocaine in the Chicago area, transport the cocaine back to Connecticut, and then return to Chicago with payment for the cocaine. On December 3, 2020, the individual picked up 15 brick-shaped packages of cocaine, weighing a total of approximately 14.5 kilograms, at a truck stop in the Chicago area.
Rodriguez has been detained since his arrest on December 4, 2020. On July 15, 2022, he pleaded guilty to attempting to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, cocaine.
Roman, 43, of Hartford, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to 41 months of imprisonment on October 13, 2022.
The DEA’s Hartford Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and several local police departments. The investigation was assisted by the DEA Chicago Field Division and the Newington Police Department.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
The case against Rodriguez and Roman highlights the ongoing efforts of law enforcement agencies to combat the narcotics trade in Connecticut and across the country.
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- Raul Chavez, Cocaine Trafficking, Connecticut 2014 · Connecticut
- Bernardo Roman-Rolan, Cocaine Trafficking, Connecticut 2017 · Puerto Rico
- Eli O’Farrill-Fernandez, Cocaine Pipeline Operation, Connecticut 2023 · Connecticut
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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