Orlando postal worker gets 5+ years in prison for fentanyl conspiracy
A U.S. Postal Service worker in Orlando was sentenced to more than 5 years in prison Wednesday for distributing fentanyl disguised as pharmaceutical pills and using drug money to buy multiple sports cars.
Orlando Rosa Rodriguez, 59, was given the sentence of five years and 10 months on charges of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and money laundering, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The DOJ said two of Rodriguez's co-defendants, Jayson Perez-Quinones of Orlando and Jovan Rivera Rodriguez of Kissimmee, arranged to receive shipments of thousands of fenta-pills — pills containing fentanyl made to look like normal pharmaceuticals.
Perez-Quinones and Karen AltaGracia Perez, another co-defendent, would package those pills into individual bags for street delivery and give them to mid-level distributors like Rosa Rodriguez for resale, the DOJ said.
The release shows Rosa Rodriguez distributed the pills to customers, including in the parking area of the U.S. Postal Service office where he worked. He even distributed the pills to one of his coworkers, who overdosed, according to his signed plea agreement. Perez-Quinones became concerned the coworker may 'snitch' about their activities to law enforcement.
'You can't give to…to people like that,' Perez-Quinones told Rosa Rodriguez, according to the DOJ. '…Because if you give him one…and something happens to him, they'll rat you out, man.'
Rosa Rodriguez earned more than $300,000 in one 20-month period on top of his salary from the U.S. Postal Service and VA disability benefits. He used those proceeds to purchase sports cars, including a Corvette worth approximately $80,000, a Porsche 911 Carrera Coup worth approximately $92,000, and a Porsche 718 Cayman Coup worth approximately $120,000, according to the release.
The investigation into the conspiracy was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Internal Revenue Service with assistance from the Orlando Police Department. Law enforcement monitored the cellphones and surveilled the activities of several people involved, according to the plea agreement, some of whom referred to the pills as 'dollars' or 'bucks.'
The Orlando Police Department conducted a traffic stop on Rosa Rodriguez after he met with Perez at her residence. Officers found 119 pills that were tested and found to contain 12 grams of a substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl. Rosa Rodriguez then arranged on the phone with Perez-Quinones to go to his home and have Perez give him 100 pills, according to court records.
AltaGracia Perez was sentenced to five years and six months in federal prison for her role in the conspiracy in 2023. Perez-Quinones was given 15 years in prison and Rivera Rodriguez was given 5 years, the release said.
Rosa Rodriguez's plea deal said the parties involved made an agreement that every 10 pills that were distributed contained at least one gram of a substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.
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