Wilkes-Barre Man Paul Rodriguez Gets 9 Years in Cocaine Ring

Paul Rodriguez, 41, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, is headed to federal prison for nearly a decade after being sentenced to 108 months for his role in a sprawling cocaine distribution conspiracy that flooded Northeastern Pennsylvania with drugs shipped from Puerto Rico.

Rodriguez was sentenced on February 10, 2017, by United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion in Scranton, capping a federal investigation that dismantled a network responsible for trafficking between 15 and 50 kilograms of cocaine from January 2013 to November 2014.

The indictment, handed down in November 2014, originally named Rodriguez and eight co-conspirators. Every single defendant has now pleaded guilty, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, signaling a total collapse of the drug operation.

Rodriguez admitted to participating in the conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, a charge that carries stiff mandatory penalties under federal sentencing guidelines, especially given the massive quantity of narcotics involved.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Scranton Resident Office led the investigation, working in tandem with the Wilkes-Barre Police Department to track shipments, intercept communications, and build a case that ultimately unraveled the entire network.

Assistant United States Attorney Evan Gotlob prosecuted the case, underscoring federal authorities’ ongoing crackdown on drug trafficking organizations exploiting regional transportation routes. Rodriguez now begins a 9-year federal sentence with no room for early release under the terms of his guilty plea.