United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2010
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

DEFENDANT IN COCAINE TRAFFICKING CONSPIRACY,
RELATED TO MEXICO’S GULF CARTEL,
IS SENTENCED TO 24YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

Lazaro Rodriguez is Brother of Conspiracy Leader Hector Omero Rodriguez

DALLAS — Lazaro Fernando Rodriguez, 29, of Dallas, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to serve 292 months (more than 24 years) in federal prison and forfeit numerous weapons and ammunition, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Rodriguez and his brother, Hector Omero Rodriguez, a/k/a “Guero” and “Papalote,” 35, of Allen, Texas, were the two lead defendants in a major cocaine trafficking conspiracy that was dismantled by law enforcement in September 2008. Hector Rodriguez was sentenced in October 2009 to serve 20 years in prison.

The Rodriguez brothers were two of the 22 members of cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking cells that were arrested on September 16, 2008, in a coordinated enforcement action as part of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led “Project Reckoning.” In that operation, which included both “Operation Dos Equis,” an investigation into a Mexican cocaine distribution organization, and “Operation Vertigo,” an investigation of a methamphetamine distribution organization, more than $1 million in cash, approximately 300 kilograms of cocaine, approximately 400 pounds of methamphetamine and approximately 20 weapons were seized.

Lazaro Rodriguez pleaded guilty in March 2009 to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine, admitting that from November 2007 until the time of his arrest, he was a member of a drug trafficking operation located in North Texas and elsewhere that distributed in excess of 150 kilograms of cocaine. He and his co-defendants were indicted on charges related to their operation of a cocaine-trafficking cell, associated with Mexico’s Gulf Cartel, that operated in and around the Dallas area. Most of the defendants in that case have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 51 to 360 months. In fact, in November 2009, defendant Uriel Palacios, 23, of Dallas, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, following his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and one count of conspiracy to conduct money laundering. Three defendants remain fugitives.

During the course of the investigation into the cocaine conspiracy, DEA agents intercepted numerous telephone conversations involving various members of the organization, including Lazaro Rodriguez, discussing the distribution of large quantities of cocaine and the money derived from the sale of cocaine. Agents were also able to identify the house where Lazaro Rodriguez was living, on Peavy in Dallas, as one of the organization’s stash houses. During the course of the conspiracy the organization used Lazaro Rodriguez’s house to store more than 150 kilograms of cocaine and drug proceeds derived from the sale of cocaine. Rodriguez also used his house to prepare drug proceeds for shipment to Mexico.

Based on intercepted calls, agents learned that Lazaro Rodriguez stored the cocaine in a hidden storage space behind the stove. When he was arrested on September 16, 2008, law enforcement located three kilograms of cocaine hidden behind the stove, $10,000 in cash hidden behind a dresser and numerous firearms spread throughout the house.

DEA, Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, FBI, North Texas HIDTA, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Dallas Police Department, Fort Worth Police Department, Arlington Police Department, Grand Prairie Police Department, Farmers Branch Police Department, Coppell Police Department, Richardson Police Department, Waxahachie Police Department, Dallas County Sheriff’s Office participated in this investigation.

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