Two Sentenced for Cocaine and Firearm Sales in Leominster

BOSTON – Two men were sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Worcester in connection with selling cocaine on multiple occasions in Leominster.

Jose Rodriguez, 32, of Fitchburg, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 63 months in prison and four years of supervised release.  Rodriguez pleaded guilty in August 2015 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, four counts of distribution of cocaine and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Julio Alicea-Romero, 27, of Webster, Mass., was sentenced to 36 months in prison and three years of supervised release.  Alicea-Romero had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and two counts of distribution of cocaine.

The charges against Rodriguez and Alicea-Romero arose from a six-month investigation into drug sales around the Mechanic Street area of Leominster.  From June through October 2013, Rodriguez and Alicea-Romero conspired to sell and sold crack cocaine on six occasions to an individual cooperating with law enforcement and to an undercover officer.  Rodriguez subsequently sold a loaded .45 caliber handgun to the undercover officer in Leominster on Oct.17, 2013.  Rodriguez was previously convicted in 2012 for unlawful possession of a firearm and receiving stolen property. 

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.  The investigation was investigated by the DEA High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Leominster Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg A. Friedholm of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office.