York Man Sentenced To 165 Months’ Imprisonment For Smuggling Cocaine Through The U.S. Mail

HARRISBURG - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Elmer Rodriguez, age 51, of York, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on March 14, 2022, to 165 months’ imprisonment to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner for his role in a conspiracy to distribute kilogram quantities of cocaine.

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Rodriguez previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.  In July 2018, Rodriguez attempted to receive five parcels he knew each contained approximately two kilograms of cocaine.  The parcels had been shipped from Puerto Rico and were destined for five different addresses in York County.  United States Postal Inspectors intercepted the parcels and discovered the cocaine.  Law enforcement authorities continued the investigation by conducting a controlled delivery of one of the parcels.  When Rodriguez’s wife, Marangely Olivencia, took custody of the parcel, she was arrested.  Olivencia, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment for her role in the offense. 

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daryl F. Bloom prosecuted the case.

This case was part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

# # #