U.S. Department of Justice

United States Attorney

District of Connecticut

PRESS RELEASE

March 6, 2009

EAST HAVEN MAN SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR HEADING CRACK-COCAINE DISTRIBUTION ORGANIZATION

Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that NELSON RODRIGUEZ, also known as “Nellie Rock,” 30, last residing on Elm Street in East Haven, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Peter C. Dorsey in New Haven to 240 months of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for leading a crack-cocaine distribution organization that operated in and around New Haven.  On December 18, 2008, RODRIGUEZ pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”).

RODRIGUEZ and seven members of his organization were indicted on January 23, 2008, by a federal grand jury sitting in New Haven after the conclusion of a long-term investigation conducted by the FBI’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force.  The investigation included the use of confidential informants, controlled purchases of crack-cocaine from RODRIGUEZ and his associates, and the use of a court-authorized wiretap through which RODRIGUEZ was intercepted participating in numerous conversations related to narcotics distribution.  The intercepted calls revealed that RODRIGUEZ was obtaining kilograms of cocaine from a New York supplier, which he then processed into crack for distribution in and around New Haven by members of his organization.

On December 22 and December 23, 2007, several calls were intercepted that pertained to a shipment of poor quality cocaine that RODRIGUEZ had obtained from his New York supplier.  In one of the calls, RODRIGUEZ complained to his supplier that the cocaine was not converting to crack properly.  RODRIGUEZ noted that mixture was “sitting in the pot” and “not getting hard, period.”

In January 2008, a series of intercepted calls revealed that RODRIGUEZ had directed a member of his crew to shoot another man.  In an effort to prevent a retaliatory shooting, the FBI terminated its investigation and arrested members of RODRIGUEZ’s organization.

Following his indictment in January 2008, RODRIGUEZ eluded law enforcement officers and remained a fugitive from justice until he was apprehended in June by the Connecticut State Police during the execution of a search warrant at a New Haven residence.  At the time of his arrest, RODRIGUEZ gave police a fictitious name, but finger print checks revealed his true identity.  Law enforcement seized a kilogram of crack cocaine from the residence where RODRIGUEZ was found, and RODRIGUEZ faces additional charges in state court in connection with the possession of these drugs.

When he pleaded guilty to the federal charge, RODRIGUEZ admitted that he was the leader of the organization targeted by the FBI’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force, that he possessed a firearm during the course of the drug conspiracy and that he was responsible for distributing at least 150 grams of crack cocaine. 

All of the defendants charged in the Indictment have pleaded guilty.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and members of the Safe Streets Gang Task Force, including the Ansonia Police Department, Milford Police Department, New Haven Police Department, and the Connecticut Department of Correction.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Caruso of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.