Bay Area Woman Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison For Distributing Heroin and Methamphetamine

February 12, 2010 - SAN FRANCISCO/SAN JOSE/OAKLAND – On February 3, 2010, Josefina Rodriguez was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to forfeit over $390,000 to the United States for her role in a large-scale narcotics conspiracy, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.

RODRIGUEZ was originally charged along with seven other individuals following the February 4, 2009 execution of a series of arrest and search warrants across Northern California resulting from an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). To date, the OCDETF investigation has resulted in the seizure of the six kilograms of methamphetamine, as well as over one kilogram of heroin, over $390,000 in cash drug proceeds, and multiple firearms.

On September 23, 2009, RODRIGUEZ pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin and methamphetamine. In pleading guilty, RODRIGUEZ admitted that she was involved in the narcotics conspiracy between February 2008 and January 2009. On April 6, 2008, RODRIGUEZ was stopped by California Highway Patrol officers while driving near Los Banos, California. Officers subsequently discovered $353,877 packed into multiple duffle bags in the trunk of RODRIGUEZ’s car. During her guilty plea before United States District Judge Charles R. Breyer, RODRIGUEZ admitted that the $353,877 seized from her car were drug profits, and she agreed to forfeit the funds to the United States. Similarly, RODRIGUEZ agreed to forfeit $37,807 that was seized from her home on February 4, 2009. In addition, RODRIGUEZ admitted that she bought and sold 492 grams of heroin and 225 grams of methamphetamine while she was involved in the conspiracy.

The sentence handed down by Judge Breyer also included a four-year period of supervised release.

Aaron Wegner and Waqar Hasib are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys prosecuting the case, with the assistance of Hui Chen and Jacquelyn Lovrin. The prosecution is the result an investigation led by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), together with agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”). The investigation was conducted and funded by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a multi-agency task force that coordinates long-term narcotics trafficking investigations.